Unconditional - Mystic Messenger
by SilentWriter101
Summary: Someone called 'Ray' has contacted MC asking her to test out a game for him. As she falls deeper and deeper into the RFA's and Mint Eye's conspiracies, she doesn't know if she can ever return to her normal life. With Ray around, she might not even want to. / SPOILERS for Ray route, V route and 707 route. {I don't own the characters - creds to Cheritz}
1. Chapter 1

**PART I - SUMMER**

It was a beautiful sunny day today. The rows of daffodils decorating your favourite café and the slight hints of jasmine on the breeze indicated that spring had fully arrived. This winter was particularly harsh; on the weather and on your personal life. The friends that you had surrounded yourself with last year had suddenly disappeared, preoccupied with their own lives. In winter you had no one to get a hot drink with or snowball fights with. This, coupled with the stress of your exams, had made you constantly tired. You worked very hard to get into medical school and you loved soaking up the knowledge, but it was harder than you thought it would be and with the constant clouds that hung over you in the cold months, you were simply tired.

This is why you headed to your favourite café near your university campus for a cool refreshing drink, as soon as the sun broke free of the clouds. You were busy tapping away at a game on your phone and didn't see the person who bumped into your shoulder as you walked past them on the busy street. You muttered an apology out of instinct, even if it hadn't been your fault and carried on walking.

As soon as you were getting really, really into the book you were reading, your phone felt your elbows, which had been propped up on a table in the café, vibrate. You glanced down to see you had a new text message.

That in itself was a surprise, but you concluded it was probably your mother checking up on you, like she did regularly. Your phone vibrated again so you reluctantly put your book down. It had gotten to a really good part where the heroine had just come to the soul-shaking realisation that she was completely and utterly in love. These bits were what you lived for. Sure, you loved a happy ending as much as the next girl, but what really drew you in was the relationship before the confessions and kisses.

You sighed to yourself and unlocked you phone. You had 2 new messages from someone called 'Unknown'. What the hell? It was probably one of those automated advertisements, right?

 ** _Unknown: Hi!_**

 ** _Unknown: Finally someone to talk to, thank god…_**

You scrunched up your eyebrows in confusion. You figured that there was no harm in replying to them so you typed replied with a simple 'Hello'.

Unknown replied straight away. They were an app developer? What did they want with you?

 ** _Unknown: Don't be nervous! I'm just an *ordinary* person_**

That freaked you out a little bit, but you were emboldened by the fact that you were chatting via text, which always helped you to speak your mind more freely.

 ** _MC: Why are you emphasising the word 'ordinary'? It's making me even more nervous_**

The more you chatted to Unknown, the more you relaxed. A beta, unreleased messenger game app? And they wanted you to test it for free? Once you agreed to try it out, Unknown said they would call you.

You put down your phone and took a long sip of your drink. The fact that they wanted to speak over the phone made you a little nervous. It was much easier to talk over texts.

Your phone began to ring and you quickly reached for it, trying to ignore the glances of other customers. You answered the call.

'Hey, it's me. I was just chatting with you.'

The voice was sweet, but masculine at the same time.

'Unknown?' you asked after a moment of hesitation. He sounded pleased that you remembered him and briefly went over the mechanics of the game again. He stressed that gathering guests was vital to get the good ending. You agreed when he said you needed to meet up in order to install the game; after all, he could just come by the café. What you were not prepared for, however, was him telling you that you needed to come _there_. You thought it over as he spoke and you supposed that it would be alright. A game this new would be very confidential and his headquarters were probably in some chic office building in the city centre.

He was so kind, you thought after you hung up. He had even sent a driver to pick you up! A large part of your brain sent stranger danger warning signals but you ignored it and climbed into the black car that had arrived for you outside the café.

The doors immediately locked as soon as you sat down and you froze. The driver was a man in a black suit complete with dark shades and an earpiece.

'Hello Miss. I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to put this blindfold on,' he said, holding out a black piece of cloth out to me. 'The headquarters are confidential, as it has been explained.'

'What? Is it ok if I don't?'

The driver leaned forwards and opened the glove compartment and took out a small bottle of pills.

'You can take sleeping pills if you prefer,' he said, shrugging. You swallowed audibly and reluctantly took the blindfold from his other hand.

It felt like we were driving for hours until the car finally lurched to a halt and you heard the 'click' of the doors unlocking. 'Mr Ray has arrived,' the driver said and the car door opened. You instinctively turned your head to the sound.

'Welcome,' the silky voice of Unknown said, 'I've been waiting. Welcome to this wonderful place.'

Your heart sped up and you would be lying if you said you hadn't imagined and reimagined meeting Unknown over and over during the car ride here.

'It couldn't have been an easy choice deciding to come here,' he said and paused. 'Thank you for trusting me,' he said in a much softer tone.

'Who are you?' you asked just to be certain. You could almost feel his smile.

'Someone who has been anxiously waiting for you to arrive. Don't you recognise my voice? Maybe it'd be better if I say Unknown?'

You relaxed a little in relief as he continued to speak.

'Don't you think Unknown was a funny choice? It has no special meaning whatsoever. My name is actually Ray.'

You smiled, despite the blindfold and the strange situation. You couldn't help yourself.

'Thank you for coming all this way. Here, hold my hand, I'll help you down from the car,' he said warmly. You placed your right hand in his without hesitation and let him guide me down.

'Thank you,' you replied instinctively.

A few seconds passed and he still hadn't replied. Then, suddenly, 'You're thanking me? No, thank you for doing what I have told you to do.'

You only widened you grin in response. His hand was warm in yours as he led you forward.


	2. Chapter 2

You entered a room and a gust of warm air blew across your face. You heard the door close behind you.

'MC, I can take the blindfold off now,' he said and you felt him step closer to you. You held your breath as his fingers lifted the cloth from your eyes.

The first thing you saw was his face. It was the most beautiful thing you had ever seen. Not just because his every feature was lovely, but it was the shining in his eyes. It was cautious and hopeful. It was a look you imagined a baby deer would have. His eyes were a bright, teal colour and his hair was bleached white with soft pink tips. His lips were parted and you could tell he was taking quick, shallow breaths. Was he as nervous as you was? He didn't say anything as you studied him, and then you cast your gaze to the room around you.

From the bed to the floor to the curtains to the bundled carnations in the corner, everything was a baby pink colour. The room was clearly a bedroom. A really, really pretty bedroom. There was a wardrobe in the corner with its doors wide open. A row of soft, pastel coloured t-shirts and dresses were hung up. Everything looked new and unused.

Ray took a step back and cleared his throat. 'You'll be staying in this room while you're testing the game.'

'W-What do you mean? Staying here?'

He straightened and tried to speak more firmly, as if he had expected the question and had an answer already rehearsed. 'Yes, you'll have to stay here until the party in the game. We can't risk the game being leaked to the public.'

He then smiled sheepishly and scratched the back of his head. 'I hope you can trust me,' he said in a much softer tone.

From what he hold told you, the game wouldn't take a long time to complete and you had just started your spring break at university. Also, it wasn't like you had a roommate at your university or any particularly close friend who would be worried about your whereabouts.

Pushing down the panic that was simmering below the surface, and the shame that your mother would feel if you told her about this, you gave him a quick nod. You tried to give a reassuring smile, but you're not sure you fooled him.

'Ok,' you said, 'I'll trust you.'

Suddenly, his face transformed and his green eyes lit up. You didn't think that you had said anything special, but his shoulders sagged in relief. You didn't know back then that it was his first time hearing those words from someone.

You both sat down on the edge of the bed, elbows nearly touching as you gave him your phone so he could install the game. He then explained the game some more and gave you information about the characters.

'If they're really suspicious you can just tell them that someone called Rika sent you to hold a party, ok?'

You nodded slowly. Satisfied, he stood up and you copied. You walked him to the door and just as he reached for the handle, he quickly spun back around. You raised yours eyebrows in surprise.

'Do you have any last questions about the game or the AIs?' he asked. Sunlight shone through the windows, showing that his hair wasn't actually completely white but a very pale pink colour. His thick eyelashes and the dark circles under his eyes made them practically glow. You had never seen anyone so perfect and innocent and it made your heart flutter.

Without thinking you muttered quietly to yourself, 'how do I pursue _you_ , Ray?'

His eyes widened and he froze, hand still outstretched to grab the doorknob. Your heart pounded in embarrassment. He had heard! What on Earth had made you think it was a good idea to say that out loud? He was going to think you were mad and you probably were, considering what you had just agreed to. A faint glint in his eyes told you that Ray might've been a little mad himself.

'I-I mean…' you stuttered, trying to think of something to say. You looked away, unable to meet his stare.

'You want to pursue _me_?' he asked in a breathless whisper, 'but I'm not in the game.'

You watched his confused face melt away and be replaced with a smile out of the corner of your eyes. He gave a light chuckle, and you met his eyes in surprise.

'You like my looks? That feels kind of good.'

That wasn't what you had expected him to say and you felt your cheeks go a little warm. His expression turned a little more serious as he went on.

'I-I have a small voice, one that not many people seem to listen to. I've always dreamed of someone who's a good listener to the things I have to say. Just, don't try to take the easy way out of the game ok? Promise me.'

'I promise,' you said without hesitation. He had warned you that if you told the AIs the truth it would be game over and that you would have to restart the whole thing.

He smiled one his adorable Ray smiles. 'Thanks so much! I wish I could stay some more, but I have things to attend to,' he said and this time he grasped the doorknob and turned it. 'Give it your best shot, party coordinator!' he said over his shoulder as he walked out. The door closed.


	3. Chapter 3

A few hours later, you were lying down on the bed, gazing out the window when your phone started making strange noises. You quickly unlocked your phone to see an RFA chatroom open. This was it, the game had finally begun.

You read through all their messages and couldn't helping cracking a smile a few times. These AIs were really funny sometimes, you mused to yourself. They almost seemed real. It had been a few minutes and they still hadn't noticed you. You were getting so absorbed, you almost didn't realise why the redhead AI, 707, started acting flustered, until you remembered you had supposedly 'hacked' into the messenger.

They bombarded you with questions and suspicion, things which Ray had told you to prepare for, so you tried to answer with funny and cryptic answers. After all, you didn't want to reveal anything and get a bad end so soon. Something in you really didn't want to disappoint Ray, who had chosen and trusted _you_ of all people to come and try his game.

As expected, as soon as you mentioned Rika, the narrative began to change. The cute one, Yoosung started acting really angry, accusing the gentle, blue-haired V of keeping secrets from the RFA. It was obvious he was programmed to have a deeper connection with Rika than the other characters, and the others didn't share his suspicions. As the characters started to leave one-by-one, V informed you he was going to call you, so you also said your goodbyes and left the chatroom after him.

You saw V's handsome profile picture on the screen accompanied by ringing and quickly accepted his call.

'Hello? Oh, the phone's working alright,' he said, his voice smooth and gentle. 'I told you I would call you, didn't I? Allow me to introduce myself; I am V, head of the RFA.'

You smiled, even though you knew he couldn't see you, 'the pleasure is all mine,' you assured.

V then proceeded to ask you how you had come to know Rika. You wracked your brain for something plausible, but vague to satisfy the AI.

'I got an invitation,' you said. It wasn't exactly a lie; you just didn't get one from _her_. After all, she wasn't even real. None of them were. It had been a long time since you had had a conversation with a bunch of such genuinely nice people. But they weren't people. You tried to banish the thoughts that cast a shadow over the happy moment you were feeling by injecting a teasing tone into your voice as you talked.

'It's a secret,' you replied when he asked what the invitation said.

'Hmm… I wonder what it's all about,' he mused to himself, 'but it's alright. You don't have to tell me if there's a reason it should be kept a secret.'

He sounded so kind and understanding, it cemented your belief that he was an AI. People as nice as this didn't exist in the real world.

'Very well, that's enough questions for now. I believe there's a limit to phone conversations,' he said.

His voice was so soothing you didn't want him to hang up. 'Let's slowly learn about each other.'

He gave a warm chuckle, 'exactly what I was thinking. Since you were told to host a part, I'll help you to the best of my abilities.' His voice then dropped to a much softer tone, 'I'll tell you one by one… how a party is held.'

They had given V such an angelic voice and you wondered who his voice actor was. You would search him up the moment you got back home.

'Very well then, goodbye. I look forward to seeing how you do.'

'Yes, goodbye,' you replied and he hung up.

You chucked the phone across and the bed and collapsed backwards with a loud sigh.

A few moments later the door to your room suddenly opened, for the first time in what felt like ages. You immediately sat up, tense, until you saw Ray's familiar smile. You had been nervous about someone else walking into your room since you didn't even have a key to lock the door.

He walked in balancing a tray of food in one hand and a glass of water in the other. He gently kicked the door shut behind him and walked towards the table set up near the bed.

'Hi, MC. I'm so so so sorry. You must have been so hungry, but I was busy working on the app and I forgot you hadn't eaten but I wanted to be the one to bring you your food because I thought you'd be nervous if-'

'Ray,' you said softly cutting off his rambling, 'It's really alright. I wasn't that hungry, I ate a lot in the morning.' You get off the bed and sit down at the table. You had said you weren't that hungry but in truth you were starving. You weren't used to not eating for prolonged periods of time and the last thing you had was that drink at the café around six hours ago.

He tried to smile but you could still see the concern lingering in his eyes. 'Ok, if you say so. I'm still really sorry. Next time, you can just call me ok? I've added my number to your messenger.'

'Oh, I hadn't noticed. Thank you, Ray.'

'Enjoy your meal then, MC. I'll try to be back soon,' he said and started to leave. You glanced down at the tray and saw a little slip of paper with a little sketch of a rose along with the word 'Enjoy!' in neat, cursive handwriting.

'Wait!' you called out as he reached the door. 'Ray, have you eaten anything yet?'

He stood still for a moment before slowly turning back around. 'Me? You're asking me if I've eaten?'

'Yeah, you said you've been working all this time. And there's so much food!'

He clasped his hands in front of him and looked down. 'N-no, I haven't eaten since the morning either.'

The dark, golden rays of sunlight created criss-cross patterns on your bed, signalling it was sunset.

'Ray, if you haven't eaten then I don't want to eat either,' you said softly.

At that he quickly rushed over to you, 'MC, please stop. You don't have to do something like that for me,' he said fervently, and then added in a quieter tone, 'I don't deserve that.'

Seeing that you were sitting on the only chair around the table you stood up. Ray watched you with curious eyes as you brought the tray of food over to the large bed and placed it in the middle. You then walked right up to him and hesitated for a second, before slowly taking his right hand in yours. You pushed aside your feelings of self-doubt and uncertainty. There was a person here in front you that needed you. Someone needed you, and the thought gave you the strength to overcome your shyness. You gently pulled him towards the bed. Ray let himself be pulled by you silently. You let go of his cold, gloved hand and climbed on top of the bed. You sat on one side of the tray cross-legged, and gestured to the tray in front of you.

A few seconds passed by with Ray simply staring at you. Your heart started to hammer in your chest and you could feel your anxiety slowly return to you, until he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. You couldn't hide the surprise on your face as he bent over to untie his shoes and gently kicked them off. He climbed onto the bed and sat opposite you, mirroring your position. The tails of his magenta coat fanned out around him. A few seconds passed and seeing that you were still refusing to eat, he hesitantly tore off a small piece of bread and brought it to his mouth.

You smiled in satisfaction and you did the same. 'I told you,' you said after you had swallowed, 'I won't eat without you.'

'MC,' he whispered. His eyes shone and you wondered if it was the light that made it seem like he had tears gathered in his eyes. His gaze quickly dropped back down to the tray of food, leaving your name to be dispersed in the breeze that blew past from the opened window. Both of you ate the rest of the food in silence. There was no need for any words. Despite knowing Ray for less than a day, the comfort you had in his presence made you feel like you had known him your entire life. Not even with your mother had you felt this serenity before. Occasionally, a breeze would blow in from the window and ruffles the ends of Ray's hair. More than once you had the urge to lean over and run your hands through his hair. You said to yourself it was to stop the stray pieces from falling into his eyes but you in reality you just wanted to see if it was as soft as it looked.

You ate less than you normally would, and slower as well. You wanted to savour this moment of peace. Ray was hesitant at the beginning, but after a few minutes started to eat rather quickly and enthusiastically. He must have been so hungry, you thought to yourself. But if you hadn't offered, when would he have had his dinner? With the surprise he showed earlier when you offered him food, you wondered if he would have eaten at all this evening. Just what was this place? Was everyone like this or was it just Ray?

After you had both finished, the tray and plates were completely clear of any food and were spotless.

'Thank you, MC,' Ray said quietly, the first thing he had said the entire meal. 'I'm really sorry you had to share your food and eat with me. I chew really loudly don't I? And I ate too much, you barely had anything. It must have been such a pain.'

He gathered up the tray and got up. His face looked so sad; your heart went out to him. Why was he saying these things?

'Ray!' you said in a firm tone, not continuing until he looked you in the eyes. 'I was the one who wanted you to eat with me, remember? Please don't say things like that.'

He nodded solemnly and left the room, taking the empty tray with him. After the door shut behind him, you stood up and walked over to the window. You looked up at the twilight sky and closed your eyes, feeling the wind caress your face. Something was going on in this place and you were going to get to the bottom of it; for your sake and Ray's.

Ray was trembling slightly as he shut the door to your room behind him. What was wrong with him? Why was his heart pounding the entire time he ate? He already had his elixir this morning, were the effects starting to wear off already? He took a few deep breaths in and out to calm himself, as his saviour had instructed him to do when he started to feel too panicked.

He heard footsteps and opened his eyes to see a believer approach him in concern. 'Mr Ray?'

'I'm fine!' he snapped, irritated to be caught in such a vulnerable state. He shoved the tray into the believer's arms and stalked off. He didn't have time for idle conversation; he had work to do.

'For eternal paradise,' Ray heard the fellow believer say as he strode down the corridor. Ray was too far away to bother giving a reply.

The believer grasped the tray tightly, his mint eyes narrowing in concern for the young man who had stormed off. He looked at the ornately decorated door Ray had come out of and wondered who was behind it.


	4. Chapter 4

You had been turning and tossing in the bed for two hours now and you just couldn't fall asleep. If you looked in a mirror right now you wouldn't be surprised to see smoke coming out your ears with how fast your mind was racing. You felt for your phone on the bedside table and dragged it to your bed. The time on your phone said it was well past midnight. You decided to log onto the messenger and see if there were any chatrooms you missed. To your surprise you saw Jumin already logged on.

 **MC: Good evening, Jumin.**

 **Jumin: Oh, MC. You're here.**

 **Jumin: You know, there's a term called information superiority. It means gathering every bit of information possible for your allies whilst limiting the information you give to your enemies.**

 **MC: Are you trying to say that I'm holding information superiority?**

 **Jumin: We don't know who you are for sure yet. Being overly emotional and handing out information by not paying attention to one's words is the same as surrendering all our information to our enemy.**

 **Jumin: From a business mindset, it's unacceptable. And it seems we have lost our information superiority to you. I'd appreciate it if Yoosung could restrain himself from making unnecessary comments, even though I do understand his point of view.**

Ah, you thought to yourself. Ray had given you the run down on all the characters and now you fully understood what he meant when he talked about Jumin being a cold, corporate heir.

 **MC: What's so bad about questioning things? You might learn a thing or two ~**

 **Jumin: It can create unnecessary suspicion and distrust. We should all be uniting now at the face of these strange events, rather than dividing amongst ourselves.**

You were shocked, to say the least, at the intelligence of Jumin's replies. You didn't know such great advancements had been made in the field of artificial intelligence. You really had to hand it to Ray, this game was amazing. No wonder they were shrouding their whole operations in secrecy.

 **Jumin: I'm surprised it's taking Luciel this long to research you, MC. It's definitely much longer than we expected. Has it ever taken this long for him to complete his research?**

 **MC: Ooooh busted! I'm actually from another dimension hehe .O**

 **Jumin: That sounded like something Luciel would say. Wait, 707, it's not you is it?**

 **MC: What, haha, no this is 100% MC.**

 **Jumin: Alright…**

 **Jumin: Don't tell me you're hiding using… could it be…**

 **Jumin: Black magic?**

 **Jumin: No, probably not. Please ignore that.**

You were seriously laughing right now. Jumin was just too precious. The corporate heir thought you were hiding from 707's inspection using magic? You giggled as Jumin went on about a new book he was reading. Suddenly, V entered the chatroom.

 **MC: Hey, it's V! Did you summon him with a spell, Jumin?**

 **V: MC you're here. And Jumin.**

According to V, Jumin was drunk and suddenly all the funny stuff he was saying started to make sense. V and Jumin seemed to be very good friends with a friendship that could be traced back to early childhood. Jumin shared a picture of them as little choir boys and you couldn't help but 'awww' at how adorable they both looked. Jumin left after some badgering by you and V; he was drunk and he had to go to work early in the morning.

It was just you and V left in the chatroom.

 **V: Talking about my childhood really brings back memories…**

 **V: I feel like I owe Jumin all the time.**

 **V: He's so smart… and I'm not good enough…**

His words suddenly brought Ray's sad face to mind. Their words were so similar. You checked the time and it was three in the morning. He had to have been sleeping now, right? You hoped Ray would look at this conversation you had with Jumin and V later. You weren't sure if you could help Ray in person, but maybe you could tell him your thoughts through the messenger by helping V shed his feelings of inadequacy.

 **MC: No, V. Don't think of it as an owing. It's ok to depend on your friends.**

 **V: Thank you… MC…**

 **V: As the head of the RFA I just want to protect everyone. They're so precious to me.**

 **MC: You can if you believe in yourself some more and let others help you.**

 **V: Yes… you're right. I should get going. Are you going to sleep now?**

 **MC: I don't feel like sleeping just yet. There's something I have to do first.**

 **V: Alright, goodnight MC.**

 **MC: Sweet dreams, V.**

V left the chatroom and you exited after him. You went into your contacts and saw Ray on the list, just as he said he would be. You were biting your lower lip as your thumb hovered over his name. You couldn't stop yourself and you called him. You really had no self-control.

Part of you wanted to desperately hear his silky voice, but a part of you hoped he was getting some well-deserved rest and wouldn't pick up.

Your fears were confirmed when you heard his voice call your name, picking up almost straight away.

'MC? You're still awake?'

'Ray! Yeah, I couldn't fall asleep.'

'Oh, is the bed uncomfortable? Is it too hot? I thought I told them to turn on the air conditioning-'

'No, no. The room is perfect, thank you.'

'I designed the room for you, you know. I picked out everything in there myself.'

'Ah, then no wonder everything is so nice. I love the flowers in the vases,' you said in the sincerest tone you could. 'Thank you so much.'

He laughed in relief over the phone. 'It was nothing. I'm so glad you like it here! I love flowers too!' He sounded so happy.

You laughed at how adorable he was being and decided to tease him a bit. 'I can tell. You're friends with flowers aren't you?'

He hummed in thought. 'I don't have many friends… so I suppose I am! I've even learnt their language,' he said proudly.

You thought back to the blue rose pinned to the lapel of his magenta coat and the one he drew for you. 'Ok then, what do blue roses mean?'

'Blue roses mean the impossible, the unattainable. They are the unrealised dream.'

You wondered what Ray thought was unattainable to him. You would ask him when you got the chance later. You didn't want to risk making him melancholic at this hour, since the night tended to make people more emotionally fragile anyway.

You could hear typing in the background. 'Wait, are you working right now?'

He sighed. 'I'm trying to but I just can't concentrate.'

'Ray, you need to take better care of yourself. I don't want you to get sick. Ok?'

He hesitated before replying. 'Ok… I promise I'll go to bed soon. Oh, something's come up, I need to get going.'

You made a good choice calling Ray. His sweet voice relaxed you like a lullaby and you knew you would have no trouble falling asleep when you hung up the phone. 'Sweet dreams, Ray.'

'Sweet dreams, MC.'


	5. Chapter 5

The next day was unbearably slow. In the morning, Ray brought you breakfast and you once again insisted he eat with you, so you took the tray of croissants and bread to the bed. After you had both eaten to your hearts' content, he let you know that he would spend most of the day working but he hoped he could come by again soon.

It was late afternoon you were starting to feel suffocated in your room. It was all good and well chatting with the RFA but you needed to _walk_ somewhere. Anywhere!

You quietly opened the door to your room and eyed the corridor through a narrow gap. Ray had told you that you could visit any room on this floor but you couldn't venture anywhere else. You wondered what would happen if you tried to leave – not that you knew where the exit was anyway.

You heard multiple footsteps and murmurings coming from further down the hallway and you quickly shut the door as discreetly as possible. Their voices got louder as they passed by your room and only when they were sufficiently down the hallway did you dare to peek through the door again. You only caught them for a few seconds before they disappeared around a corner. There were three of them and they seemed to be wearing dark-coloured robes, with circles of gold creeping up the sleeves and down the back. If Ray's weird behaviour and mood swings hadn't tipped you off, this certainly did. Something really strange was going on in this building, you could feel it.

Wasting no time, you ran back into your room to grab your phone and you slipped it into the front pocket of your jeans. You briefly wondered who you would call if you found yourself in trouble. You weren't sure you completely trusted Ray yet, as much as you wanted to help him. V and 707 crossed your mind but they were AIs and they couldn't help you in real life. The most they could do was to give you advice.

The hallway was decorated in a similar way to your room. Small, elaborate chandeliers lit up the hallway and the light reflected off the many golden surfaces dotted around. Could the headquarters of some gaming company really afford such ostentatious objects? You felt that you were keeping a mental checklist of everything fishy about this place.

You checked the door next you on either side and they were both locked. You couldn't see any keyholes so you assumed they were opened using some sort of key card. At the end of the corridor was an ordinary lift which had the number 3 lit brightly above it in red. At least you now knew what floor you were on. You tried pressing the button for the lift but button wouldn't light up and you concluded you probably needed a key card to activate it.

Feeling disheartened by your lack of discoveries you decided to just make your way back to your room. As you were walking down the hallway you saw another figure come around the corner on the opposite side. You studied them as they neared you, but it was hard to make out any definite features as the oversized hood casted too many shadows on their face. They tilted their head upwards slightly as they walked past you and you spotted a pair of bright mint-coloured eyes.

'For eternal paradise,' they said in a smooth voice as they passed you by.

You paused in your stride and turned to look at their retreating back in confusion. What kind of a greeting was 'for eternal paradise'? And why did their voice sound so familiar?

You watched as the robed figure took a card out of their pocket and tapped it against a black protrusion on the wall and you heard a high pitched 'beep'. The doors opened almost instantly and they got in. As the doors were about to close they lifted their head again and you made eye contact for a few seconds. Then, the doors closed and you were left more confused than before. Those eyes… they looked kind of familiar. And was it just tricks of the light making it seem as if they smiled at you?

Your mind racing, you returned to your room.

Half an hour later, you were lying on the soft bed reading the rest of the novel that you had brought with you to the café. With everything that was going on, you had forgotten all about it until you found yourself desperate for something to distract yourself with. When you had come back to the room you had tried calling Ray a few times but each time it went to voicemail. You were surprised by how disinterested and tired his recorded voice was. All it said was, 'I'm busy. Call later.'

You hadn't heard Ray like that and it made you worry for him even more. It also made you question how much you really knew about the man who bought you here and, not for the first time today, doubt whether you had much the best choice in coming here. Each time you thought that, you would feel a surprising pang of guilt and Ray's shining face would come to mind.

Lost in your thoughts you realised you had been reading the same page for the last ten minutes so you slid in the bookmark and closed the book with a sigh.

You went on your phone and found a chatroom open and that 707 was online. Chatting with him always put a smile on your face no matter how tired you were.

 **707: Hell-o world!**

 **707: Hell-o MC!**

 **MC: Hell-o Seven!**

 **707: No one's ever replied to me before!**

 **707: Hehehe…**

 **707: I see Jumin invited a vampire to the party.**

 **707: I had a werewolf in mind but I lost its phone number :'(**

 **MC: Aw man! I wanted a werewolf too. Seven-oh-Seven! I demand you to summon a creature more amazing than Jumin's vampire!**

 **707: A damsel in distress has called out my name! Summoning is 40% complete.**

 **707: Summoning is 60% complete.**

 **707: Summoning is 100% complete. AHA!**

 **MC: *drumroll***

 **707: SEVEN ZERO SEVEN**

 **707: Invites Pluto beep!**

 **707: A poor little planet about to be kicked out of our solar system beep!**

 **707: 'Please invite me!' it cries, beep!**

 **MC: I'll invite it, beep!**

 **707: OH yeah! Woohoo!**

You couldn't help but laugh at Seven's antics. You had gotten some really strange guest recommendations so far though. Well, it _was_ just a game – something you forgot sometimes – so you always told them you would invite the strange guests they asked for. The emails you actually got from the guests weren't that much more normal and it took all of your imagination and creativity to formulate replies.

V joined the chatroom and you joined him in teasing Seven. Every time you spoke to V it was as if you found a new side to him, and you once again thought that Ray was a brilliant man for being able to come up with such multidimensional characters.

After everyone had left the chatroom you reluctantly logged out as well. You were itching to go outside, but didn't want to go alone, remembering the strange cloaked figures you saw earlier.

You realised you hadn't really looked around your room properly yet; it was so huge it would take you hours to open all the drawers and study all the decorations.

You remembered seeing a closet of clothes when you arrived yesterday, and you thought you would pass the time trying on a new outfit.

You browsed through the range of pink, purple and yellow outfits but none of them were really your style. Eventually, something black caught your eye in the back of the wardrobe. It was the last thing hanging so it was difficult to take it out but after a minute you succeeded. It was the only thing dark-coloured you had seen in the entire wardrobe and you put in against your body as you looked in the mirror. It was pretty nice, you thought, and it was knee-length. You quickly got changed and folded your own clothes and put it them on an armchair in the corner of the room.

You hard a few sharp knocks on your door and jumped in surprise.

'Come in,' you shouted somewhat hesitantly.

A short, stocky figure cloaked in the same dark robes you had seen before walked in. They held a tray of food in one hand and a pitcher of what looked like orange juice in the other. They placed the tray down on your table.

'Your lunch, Miss,' they said before bowing slightly. 'Do you require anything else?'

'No, thank you,' you replied. You had your eyes trained on them since the moment they entered and you studied them until they turned and exited the room.

You curiously made your way over to the table to see what they had brought you. You were unsurprised to see they had brought way too much food again. You left the food and instead poured yourself a glass of juice. You sat down on the edge of your bed and sipped a little of it. You cringed involuntarily at how sweet it was.

'Bleurgh,'

You put the glass back on the table, opting to drink some water they had brought you earlier to wash away the sugar lingering in the back of your throat.

Your phone beeped indicating a chatroom had opened again. That was quick; the last one was ten minutes ago.

You logged into the messenger to see Ray there. His profile picture was of an orange carnation and you suddenly felt the urge to see him. You had breakfast with him a few hours ago, were you missing him already?

 **Ray: The administrator is here - ^^**

The pictures of small V and Jumin had nothing on the cute hand-clapping emoji Ray had made for himself.

 **MC: The user is here - ^^**

 **Ray: Haha that was a decent counter.**

 **Ray: So… How do you like the game so far?**

It was pretty weird, but you had been starting to forget why you had come here in the first place. Talking to the RFA seemed so normal to you now and when you weren't talking to them your mind was preoccupied by trying to get to the bottom of this place.

 **Ray: Do you enjoy your chats with the AIs?**

 **Ray: What did you do today?**

 **Ray: I wanna know what you're doing right now…**

 **Ray: I haven't seen you since I came to your room to bring you breakfast this morning. I've wanted to pay you a visit since then but I've been stuck in the development room all day.**

You understood that Ray was working and had responsibilities here but every time you heard someone walk past your room you were hoping it was Ray dropping by to check up on you. You couldn't bring yourself to say that of course, and you didn't want to sound like you whining about him not visiting so you decided to change the subject completely.

 **MC: Ray, have you eaten lunch yet?**

 **Ray: Huh?**

 **Ray: Oh ummm**

 **Ray: Not yet. I've been too busy.**

 **Ray: But thank you for asking. I feel…**

 **Ray: Happy…**

There he went again, saying things that just seemed a little odd and out of place. It warmed you to read Ray saying you made him happy, but you asking him if he's eaten his lunch didn't seem like that big of a deal. You thought back to yesterday's dinner.

 **Ray: What about you, MC? I personally told them what to bring you myself hehe. I hope you enjoyed your lunch!**

 **MC: Well to be honest, I haven't eaten lunch either.**

 **Ray: Oh, what, why? MC you must be hungry by now, it's not good to starve yourself.**

You scoffed at that. It was like the pot calling the kettle black.

 **MC: Remember what I said yesterday? I refuse .**

 **MC: If you're not eating then I'm not eating.**

You waited for him to reply, but he didn't. A few minutes passed and you were starting to feel a little anxious. Maybe something came up and he had to leave? He didn't say goodbye though.

It had been ten minutes. You sighed and logged out the messenger. You chucked your phone across the bed and sat down. Your old insecurities came back to you. Maybe he was thinking that you're being too forward. You _did_ sound kind of clingy. You were basically threatening him to come and see you. You put your head in your hands. You were trying to push out the negative thoughts when you heard someone burst into your room.

You lifted your head from your hands. 'Ray?'


	6. Chapter 6

Ray was having a terrible day; really terrible. His head hurt so much he could barely think and when he could think all he thought about was you. All he could think about what how nice you were to him and how you were so different to anyone that had ever entered his world. He couldn't help but compare you to his saviour.

The saviour was the first person to ever speak to him in such a soft and caring tone of voice. When the saviour called his name it gave him the same sensation as when he trailed his fingers across the petals of the chrysanthemums in the garden. When you first spoke to him, however, or the first time you had said 'thank you' he had felt as if someone had submerged him into a bed of fragrant roses. He noticed that you had not once asked anything from him even though you spoke so kindly. When the saviour was kind, commands followed the sweet words. It was these thoughts, and more, that had been swirling around in his mind for the better part of six hours.

It was the late afternoon now, and he was exhausted from simultaneously battling thoughts of you and from battling the redhead.

He gritted his teeth when his mind flooded with images of _him_. Now he desperately tried to recall your face so he could feel safe again, but not even remembering you could quell the burning in his heart.

He took a long sip of water and slammed the glass back down on the table. He took a few deep breaths to try to calm himself down as he was always told to do. The pain in his head tripled.

 _Hold it together Ray_ , he thought to himself. _Please keep it together, don't let him even breathe_.

Unable to sit still any longer his arm shot out of its own accord and grabbed his phone off the adjoining desk. He quickly logged onto the messenger. He knew you couldn't have been that busy; he had been monitoring your conversation with the redhead from ten minutes ago. That may have been why he was feeling so edgy at this moment, he allowed himself to admit.

 **Ray: The administrator is here - ^^**

Some tension left his body when your playful reply came almost instantly. When you asked if he had eaten lunch it brought a smile to his face. That of itself was noteworthy for not many things these past years had been able to make him smile in such a carefree way. You made him feel happy, and he had no problems in letting you know.

He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion when you said you refused to eat without him. He thought that you were just saying that out of pity yesterday when you saw him looking so obviously hungry. Was…was it your way of caring for him? Of course not, he reprimanded himself, angry that he even thought that.

He glanced at the screen of green codes that flashed across the screen. He had so much work to do, but if you weren't taking care of yourself then you could fall ill and the saviour's plan would be in jeopardy. So that meant that the saviour would understand if he took some time off to spend with you, right? He needed to take care of you; it was his responsibility. Ray pocketed his phone, grabbed his key card and left the computer room in a hurry.

Ray burst into your room with two large plastic boxes in his hands. 'Ray!' you exclaimed in surprise. 'What are you doing here? I thought you were working.'

He walked over to you, smiling cheerfully and you stood up when he came near.

'There's a place I really wanted to show you,' he said and put the box down near the tray of lunch. 'And you must be really tired of this room by now.'

You gave a forced chuckle. 'Err, yes, kind of.' You didn't want to sound ungrateful. The staff were attentive and the room was really comfortable but you were getting a little sick of staring at the pale yellow walls waiting for the RFA to log on.

He nodded, 'I thought so,' and then took the lid off one of the boxes. He started to put the sandwiches that had been brought to you carefully in it, stacking them over one another. You felt awkward just standing there so you opened the other box and started to load it with the mountain of pastries and fruit that they had also delivered.

As you were gently layering the mini strawberry tarts, you decided to sneak a glance at Ray. You looked up to see him looking at you and you locked eyes. He quickly dropped his head back down and you felt embarrassed at being caught. You both slid the lids back on the boxes.

'I'll carry these MC, but would you mind bringing the orange juice please? I'm really sorry, it might be heavy.'

You smiled and shook your head. 'Of course not, it's only a jug.'

Ray beamed at you and gathered the boxes in his arm. 'Then follow me, MC! We're going on an adventure!'

His enthusiasm was infectious and you couldn't help but laugh. 'Lead the way!'

You held the jug firmly with two hands whilst he balanced the stacked boxes as he tried to open the door.

'Success!' you exclaimed when it swung open. He held the door open for you to let you leave first.

'Why thank you,' you said sweetly, before doing a mock curtsy and walking past him. Ray's green eyes sparkled as he shut the door behind him. He led the way to the elevator and you admired the magenta coat which billowed behind him gracefully as he walked.

Once you were both inside, he hit the button for the ground floor. You noted that there were four floors in this building and a basement. As much as you wanted to trust Ray, it wouldn't hurt to have your wits about you in here.

'So, MC,' Ray said, turning to you when the doors slid shut. 'What do you think of the game? I'm sorry it might be a little boring, especially with how irritating I've set some of the AIs to be.'

You gave him a quizzical look. 'Irritating?'

His expression turned more serious and he gave a small nod. 'Yes. I'm sure you've noticed but the AIs called V and 707 are hiding something big. They go on and on about friendship, and yet they're hiding secrets from the RFA. I would call that more than irritating.'

'Oh,' you started, at loss for words to say. 'I suppose so. Am I meant to find out what they're hiding?'

Ray smiled pleasantly again but something about it looked a little off. 'Yes! It's vital that you do. I did mention that I added thriller elements here and there into the game, didn't I?'

'Yes, you did. Would you like me to pursue them? Would that help you in any way?'

Ray gave you a look you couldn't decipher. 'N-no, you don't have to do that. But,' his voice dropped little lower, 'I'm so glad that you would offer to do that for me, MC. You don't know how happy you've made me by saying that.'

You nodded and let it go, adding it to the bank of strange things you'd heard from him.

'They've all got their issues and they all need saving in different ways, but that redhead AI and V are too far gone to reach Paradise,' he continued.

The doors opened with a 'ping' and he walked out. You followed him slowly, thinking over what he had just said. Why would he make characters that were beyond saving? You'd played games similar to this before and the whole point was to show that no one was beyond help, no matter how twisted their pasts.

'Oh, MC! I nearly forgot.'

Your train of thought was quickly halted when he quickly spun around and shifted the boxes in his arms so that they were gathered on one side.

'Yes?'

'I'm afraid you need to close your eyes until we reach our destination. I'm sorry it's for-'

'Confidentiality reasons,' you finished for him dryly. He nodded sheepishly. 'Well, how am I supposed to walk there?'

Ray hesitated for a few moments and you saw his right fingers twitching. Then, slowly, he stretched his hand up to you. You looked from his hand to his face and back again. That look in his eyes was really familiar. It was partly cautious, partly hopeful. You realised it was the same look that he had when you first saw him yesterday. Yesterday seemed like a lifetime ago, you thought fleetingly.

You tightened your grip on the jug handle and let the other one fall away. You didn't even need to think twice. You placed your left hand in his right one gently, feeling the smoothness of the cold leather on your fingertips as they slid past. Ray audibly took a breath in and you realised he had been holding his breath the entire time.

'Thank you,' he said softly, voice almost in a whisper, 'for trusting me again.'

He wouldn't meet your eyes, his cheeks looked rosier than usual and the palm of his hand which wasn't covered by the brown gloves felt warm. To anyone else, you knew that this wouldn't be a big deal, but you knew, somehow, that this meant a lot to Ray. He had offered to help you down from the car yesterday when you had first arrived, before you had gotten to know each other, but this felt different. It felt intimate. His hesitance before he gave you his hand told you he felt the same way.

Heart pounding, you closed your eyes and let yourself be gently led forward by Ray once again.


	7. Chapter 7

You weren't walking for long until you heard a door open and cool air blow across your face, swirling tendrils of hair around your neck.

'We're here, you can open your eyes now,' you heard Ray say from beside you. You opened your eyes to a sight that nearly took your breath away.

The garden was beautiful. The sky was twilight purple and the stars had started to come out. There was a walkway ahead covered with twisting vines and white flowers. There were so many flowers; you could probably name only a small fraction. There were rows and rows of colour and the fragrance of blossoms and roses drifted through the breeze. You looked over at Ray who had been waiting quietly while you glanced around. Everything was glowing, including Ray, whose pale hair shone as if reflecting the starlight above.

'Ray… I-I'm speechless.'

He looked worried. 'Do you like it? I tend to the garden myself, but it's not completed yet.'

You turned suddenly to face him, orange juice nearly spilling out the sides of the jug. 'I don't like it.'

His face fell and he sighed in acceptance. 'I knew-'

'I love it! It's beautiful and magical. It's one of the most stunning things I've ever seen in my whole life.'

A grin broke out on Ray's face. 'Really? Oh, I'm so glad!'

'Thank you so much for bringing me here,' you said, hoping he could feel your sincerity. It was, literally, a much needed breath of fresh air from being cooped up in the room all day.

Silence flowed between you for a few moments as you both breathed in the crisp evening air. The scent of the flowers soothed you and you felt yourself physically relax. That is, until you realised your left hand was unusually warm. You both looked down at your entwined hands at the same time. Ray had been increasing the pressure on your hand this whole time by gripping your fingers tightly. This was so incredibly awkward.

Ray quickly released your hand and cleared his throat. 'Sorry.'

Your fingers tingled and you gave a light chuckle to hide your embarrassment. 'No worries.'

Once you had both sat down on a soft, grassy area and reclined comfortably, you decided to bring up your mini adventure from earlier in the day.

'So, I left the room today,' you started, 'you said I could visit the other rooms on this floor, right?'

He looked surprised, 'Yes I did. Have they given you a key card?'

You shook your head. 'No they haven't. I hadn't realised all the doors would be locked.'

'Yeah they usually are. I was under the impression they gave you one already. Sorry, I'll tell them to give you one as soon as we go back inside.'

'Thanks,' you said and bit into one of the sandwiches. You were starving. Ray poured himself a glass of orange juice and drank half of it in one go. 'I'm counting on you,' you said teasingly.

That made Ray smile adorably. 'No one's ever relied on me for something before,' he mused, 'it is a bit weird. It makes me want to get the job done fast and done well.'

You didn't reply, choosing to eat the rest of your sandwich, occasionally looking up to take in the beauty of the flowers around you.

You heard Ray sigh happily. 'I feel great', he said, 'I feel great about you, this garden and that moon.'

You felt your cheeks heat up at his words and you internally berated yourself for it. Why did Ray have to keep saying such sweet words? He seemed so innocent he probably didn't know the effects his flattery had on you. It was probably because you weren't used to getting so many compliments.

'Me too,' you said, leaning back on your hands to gaze at the stars. 'It's so peaceful here.'

Ray hummed in agreement. 'Would you ev-No, nothing.'

You looked at him questioningly, 'would I what?'

'Nothing, forget it.'

He shook his head and turned away from you a little bit. He then held up his glass of juice, 'don't you want some?'

You smiled at his attempt at changing the subject and went along with it. 'It's a little too sweet for my tastes. Did they add extra sugar in it or something?'

You subconsciously scrunched your nose remembering the overpowering sweetness that invaded your senses when you made the mistake of sampling it earlier.

'Yeah, I tell them to. It's far too sour for me otherwise.'

'Ah so you have a sweet tooth then?' you asked.

He smiled shyly, 'I-I suppose so.'

You fell into silence once again as you both finished eating. The evening air was crisp and the next breeze made you shiver involuntarily.

It didn't seem to escape Ray's notice. 'I think we should head back inside now. It's getting kind of chilly here.'

You felt disappointed but you were also starting to feel quite cold. 'Can we walk for a few minutes? I want to talk to you some more and see the flowers.'

Ray had been tidying up but your words made him pause. 'You-Uh…sure! I'd love to talk to you some more.'

You both smiled as you got up. You moved to take the jug, but Ray stopped you.

'It's alright, we can leave them here. They'll come to clean up after us soon.'

'Oh, ok.'

Ray started walking and you quickly joined him.

'Let's go this way!' he said, voice enthusiastic.

'Sure!'

You walked down a path of tulips with Ray who was practically bouncing with every step. He made a right turn down another path and you followed. He stopped suddenly and you nearly walked into his back.

'I love this one! Do you know what it is?' he asked and bent down to gently bring an ivory flower to his nose. You came down to the same level as him to get a better look.

'No, but it looks familiar.'

He tilted the flower in your direction and you brought your face forward to take in its scent. The soft petals brushed against your cheeks. The smell was strong and very sweet - no wonder Ray liked this flower.

'It's a gardenia and it symbolises trust, innocence and new friendships.'

'Ah I see. It's beautiful _and_ it has a beautiful meaning.'

You were busy studying the flower so it took you a few moments to realise Ray was being really quiet. You looked up from the flower to see him staring at you, the same way you had caught him looking at you earlier when you were getting ready to leave your room. This time however, he didn't look away but smiled wistfully instead.

'Yeah,' he whispered softly, 'beautiful.'

He put his hands on his knees and got up, leaving you still crouched down and your heart still pounding.

Once the beating of your heart slowed down sufficiently, you got up and followed Ray as he continued through the garden in the same way. He would occasionally stop to point out his favourite flowers and you would guess, mostly incorrectly, the name and meaning of the flowers. You noticed how comfortable he looked here, different to how you had seen him before. When he talked about the garden he spoke with pride and confidence, and you loved seeing this side of him.

After the fifth or so flower, you decided to ask him what his favourite flower was.

He slowed and tapped his finger against his cheek, thinking. 'No fair, MC. That's a really hard question.'

You couldn't help but laugh at his serious expression and he looked at you in silence. You could tell he was thinking really hard.

'Aha! Come with me!' he suddenly exclaimed as if a lightbulb had lit up in his brain and shot off down another walkway. He had surprised you and you had to jog a small distance to catch up with him. You were glad that you suggested going for a walk; it seemed to work wonders for Ray.

He eventually stopped and pointed to a cluster of small white flowers. 'That one.'

'Oh! I know this one! It's lily-of-the-valley. It's my mother's favourite so we used to have some growing in a pot back at home.'

Ray nodded. 'The scientific name is Convallaria majalis. It means return to happiness. Some think it protects the garden from evil spirits.'

'Oh that's interesting,' you murmured, inching closer to Ray to get a better look. It was hard to make out the flowers clearly in the darkness.

'It mostly means marital love and loyalty so it's used a lot in weddings,' he said. You looked at him in surprise and saw his cheeks were pink. He straightened and you followed.

He cleared his throat. 'MC, we should head back inside now.'

'Yeah, sure. Thank you for showing me your garden Ray. It's the nicest one I've ever been to. And to think you planted the flowers and did all the work yourself! I think you're an amazing person.'

A huge grin broke across his face and his green eyes lit up. 'Really? You mean it? Thank you so much. No one's ever said that to me before.'

That saddened you immensely, but you tried to not let it show and hoped your smile didn't waver.

'Of course I mean it. Now, let's go. It's even colder than it was before.'

When you reached the doors of the building, you closed your eyes without Ray having to instruct you. He reached for your hand, without any hesitation this time, and took you to the elevator. Before you knew it, you were outside your room. He reached past you to open the door for you.

'Thanks again Ray,' you said, standing in the doorway, 'are you going to sleep now? It's quite late.'

'Uh, no actually I have some work to catch up on. I will soon though, I promise. Goodnight MC.'

'Goodnight,' you replied. He smiled once more before leaving. You watched his retreating back as you lingered in the doorway. He pressed the elevator button and you decided to wait for him to disappear before you went into your room.

The doors opened after a few moments and he got inside. His eyes widened when he saw you were still standing there watching him. You gave him a small wave, which he reciprocated, as the doors closed.

You finally went in and shut the door behind you. You felt exhausted but after the night you had you knew there was no way you were going to fall asleep anytime soon. You flopped onto your bed and logged onto the RFA chatroom.

As soon as the doors of the elevator closed, Ray clutched at the shirt over his heart. He had to force himself upright otherwise he would be doubling over in pain. He let out a loud groan and slumped against the wall of the elevator as it descended. All the things he said to you tonight came back to him and he let out another groan. He was stupid, stupid, stupid! What was he thinking, talking about marital love? He had almost asked you to stay with him as well. How could he deserve to even ask that question? Who in their right mind would voluntarily stay with him? No, you would leave just like everyone else, he assured himself. He could only rely on the Saviour and nobody else. The tightening in his chest worsened.

When he remembered how tightly he had held onto you he smacked his forehead with the palm of his hand.

Why did he even take you to his garden? No one had ever showed even the slightest interest in it before, let alone had called it beautiful. No one had except you. Hope bloomed in his chest and his next breaths came a little easier.

Once the doors opened, he quickly made his way to his computer room and fell into his chair. He needed the elixir, right now. He had missed the evening dose because of you and now he was feeling the effects of it. His head felt like it was going to split into two. Well, more than it normally did anyway. When he had been saying those embarrassing, stupid things to you, Ray could feel _him_ begging for release but it was easier keeping him at bay when Ray was with you.

It took him a few moments to spot the bottle of blue liquid in the corner of his desk and when he did he wasted no time in taking the cork off and tipping it back. He winced at the bitter taste and slammed the bottle back down on his desk. He let out a deep sigh and leaned back in his chair. Your face and the way your hair fell about you when you breathed in his flowers came to mind. He wanted to tell you, every time you moved closer to him, that your scent was more intoxicating than all the roses in his garden combined, but he couldn't. He let his eyes slip shut and images from today flashed across his consciousness. As much as he berated himself for it, he could never regret going to see you this afternoon. Ray slowly started to drift into a drug-induced sleep with a small smile on his face.


	8. Chapter 8

Your fears were confirmed as it was two in the morning and you were still lying in bed wide awake. You had chatted with Zen and V an hour ago and felt glad for the first time that they were AIs, otherwise you would feel bad for them; they all had horribly inconsistent sleeping habits.

You were unsurprised that Zen rode the motorcycle; it fitted his musical acting, cigarette-smoking, beer-drinking image perfectly. You were even less surprised to learn that V had guilt-tripped Zen from riding his bike.

You smiled as you thought of V. He was the perfect father figure for the RFA – he was kind and firm. He had said that he wouldn't be able to sleep tonight as he was so worried for Zen and you assured him that you were like that too. After all, your concern for Ray was keeping _you_ awake. At least, that's what you told yourself. Your concern for him was the only reason his smiling face kept hovering at the edge of your mind, waiting for its chance to take the spotlight.

You groaned into your pillow. This was getting ridiculous. You needed to do something to distract yourself so you could stop thinking about him and fall asleep.

Your phone gave a familiar beep. A new chatroom would suffice, you thought.

You huffed when you saw Ray was online. You couldn't catch a break. Your fingers moved of their own accord and logged in.

 **Ray: MC! You're not sleeping yet!**

 **Ray: Aren't you sleepy? It's quite late.**

 **Ray: What were you doing?**

'Thinking about you, you insufferably perfect angel,' you muttered to yourself sourly.

 **MC: Ray, why aren't you sleeping?**

You didn't answer his question. You were scared you would make a snide comment on how the RFA members were all insomniacs and were slowly turning you into one too. Why did he make so many midnight chats?

 **Ray: I was thinking of you while I was working…**

 **Ray: And I was hoping you would be in the chatroom**

 **Ray: I'm happy your here!**

So he had been thinking of you as well, you thought. Whilst that did go a little way in making you feel better, you knew that he would freak out if he knew he was making you literally lose sleep. You decided to downplay it.

 **MC: I just thought of you too! Just in this moment though, haha. I guess we connected~**

 **Ray: You were thinking of me too?**

 **Ray: That makes sense then. I've heard people who think of each other simultaneously have a higher chance of bumping into each other.**

 **Ray: I think it's true.**

 **Ray: There was something I wanted to tell you… mind hearing me out?**

 **MC: If you have something to say you can come over and tell me in person hehe.**

 **Ray: To be honest, I really wanted to but I didn't know if you would ok with it, or even awake.**

 **Ray: If you really think that way I'll do that from now on.**

You melted at the new emoji Ray used. It was him kissing a blue rose with little blue hearts floating around him. It was so adorable. Why was he doing this to you?

 **Ray: You know, MC…**

 **Ray: Someone bought me some seeds, and you know how much I like to grow plants, so I decided to plant them in a small pot.**

 **Ray: The seeds managed to survive and sprouted. Wanna see?**

 **MC: Of course!**

He sent a pick of a small flowerpot with a piece of string tied in a bow around it. Inside the pot two stalks had grown, one had leaves and the other was smaller and thinner.

 **Ray: It was supposed to only have one stalk but it grew two.**

 **MC: That's great! It'll bloom twice as many flowers now and be twice as lovely ^^**

 **Ray: Yeah… that would have been great but, can you see in the photo? One of the stalks is much weaker and the other is stronger.**

 **Ray: Even with the same amount of sunlight and water, it just had to turn out like this. It was already destined which one would be weak…**

 **MC: Even though it's just a plant you're making me feel sad for the weaker stalk.**

 **Ray: You think so too? It's really sad. It didn't do anything wrong but insects keep targeting the weaker stalk and no matter how many times I kill them off, the weaker stalk just isn't growing.**

 **Ray: Someone told me to just cut the weak stalk off to save the stronger one, but you know what? I think…**

 **Ray: That's wrong. They both grew from the same seed so why should one of them suffer for the other?**

You furrowed your eyebrows in confusion. Ray didn't sound like he was talking about the plant anymore. You wish he was here so you could just look into his eyes and ask him what he really meant by this conversation.

 **MC: It would be great if we could save the weaker stalk somehow. I'm sure it could bloom beautiful flowers if it had the chance.**

 **Ray: Yeah, I also desperately wanted to do something because it was heart-breaking to keep watching it slowly wither away.**

Maybe that was it. You already knew Ray had a strong connection with nature, maybe he was just genuinely upset that he had to see something he grew die?

 **Ray: Don't you think the one to survive should be the weaker one? Sacrificing the weaker one to let the strong one survive doesn't make any sense to me.**

 **MC: That's easy. You should rescue both of them.**

Ray didn't seem to take notice of your message and continued.

 **Ray: Maybe the two were born to despise each other from the start. They could have been separated to attack and steal from each other endlessly until one eventually consumed the other.**

 **Ray: Wanna know what I did?**

'No, not particularly Ray,' you whispered. This conversation was starting to make you a little uncomfortable.

 **MC: What did you do?**

 **Ray: Eventually what I did…**

 **Ray: Was to break the stronger stalk and use it as fertiliser for the weaker one.**

The smiling emoji he sent next felt eerie coupled with the messages before. You blinked in surprise and reread the messages to make sure you understood correctly. You thought that he loved his plants?

 **Ray: I thought the villain was the stronger stalk, so now the weaker one has finally gotten back all the nutrients that were stolen from it.**

 **Ray: I hope the weaker one grows strong and fast and blossoms pretty flowers. I'll show the flowers to you once they fully bloom ^^**

Oh, Ray. There were so many things racing through your mind that you wanted to tell him. You settled for none of those.

 **MC: Wow… I'll look forward to it, Ray!**

 **Ray: Sure ^^**

 **Ray: Let's watch over this flower together from now on hehe.**

 **Ray: I'm so happy!**

He sent a rose-kissing emoji again but it didn't light you up like it did earlier.

 **Ray: Ah that took a long time, sorry. Time flies away when I'm talking to you. I hope I didn't bore you.**

 **MC: No, it was fun. It had… hidden morals and all…**

You wanted Ray to know that you knew there was something behind his tale and that you knew it had nothing to do with flowers whatsoever.

 **Ray: Glad you liked it! It's time for me to get going.**

 **MC: Ray, when are you going to sleep?**

 **Ray: Ah I actually fell asleep and had a short nap soon after I saw you so don't worry. I plan on sleeping properly when I'm done with work and have some time.**

 **Ray: There's research to show that humans don't actually need much sleep so sleeping three hours a day is enough for me.**

You sat up in alarm. Surely he wasn't saying that he only got three hours of sleep a day?

 **Ray: Achieving my goal is more important than sleep to me.**

 **Ray: I should really get going now.**

You were about to close the app when he sent another message.

 **Ray: Goodnight, MC. My princess.**

 **-RAY HAS LEFT THE CHATROOM-**

Heat rushed to your cheeks. He-he called you his princess? Had you fallen into some parallel universe? You took in a few deep breaths in and out.

'Nevermind that' you thought to yourself, 'stop focusing on the wrong thing. There's clearly weird going on with Ray.'

Why had he talked about the plant branches as if they were human? You knew you didn't have many friends anymore, but your social skills hadn't depleted enough yet to think _that_ was a normal thing to do.

You had felt uncomfortable during that entire conversation and if it wasn't concern that was keeping you from sleeping earlier, it definitely was concern keeping you awake now.

You brought the duvet up to your eyes and closed them tightly. You hadn't known Ray for a long period of time – by anyone's standards – but you had always thought of yourself as a good judge of character and you just _knew_ that Ray had a good heart. You weren't sure exactly what your feelings towards him were, but they would have to take a backseat. If these two days with Ray had told you anything it was that this place wasn't what it seemed and neither was he. Thus, you would have to redouble your efforts in both figuring out where you were and playing the messenger game. Perhaps then everything would fall into place.

Perhaps then, you could address your conflicting emotions on the conflicting man who was currently occupying the majority of your thoughts. You squeezed your eyes shut even more tightly.

'Don't worry, Ray,' you whispered into the darkness, 'I'm here now.'


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N:**

 **We're nearly at the end of the 'Summer' part of the story, hurrah! This chapter is bit longer than normal, so I hope that's alright.**

 **In other news, my finals start in a week and I depserately need to do last minute cramming soooo updates will be slow -coughnonexistentcough- for the next two weeks or so, but should resume as normal after =D**

 **Any comments are very appreciated! Positive ones motivate me and criticisms help me become a better writer so don't be afraid of the lil comment button. Enjoy! xx**

...

True to your word, you shot out of bed when you heard the beep of a new chatroom at 7 a.m. sharp.

You were happy to see 707 logged on as you knew he would fully waken you from your sleepy state. You helped him sell his 'SevenStar' drink, which you thought was genuinely catchy, to Jumin and Jaehee once they had also joined. You smiled throughout the whole conversation and was a little disappointed when everyone left to go do their respective jobs.

You were waiting for Ray to arrive with breakfast for an hour until there was a knock on your door. You jumped out of your seat and quickly ran to the mirror to see if you were presentable. You took in your lacklustre complexion and dishevelled hair in disdain. You grabbed some lipstick from your bag and gently applied some to your lips and a little to your cheeks to give you some colour. You were smoothing down your hair when another knock came. You huffed in frustration; you still looked like a mess.

You took a deep breath and opened the door with a wide smile. It died on your lips as soon as you took in the person at the door. It wasn't Ray.

You ushered the cloaked figure in and tried to hide your disappointment.

'Your breakfast, miss,' they said once they had put the tray down on your usual dining table. 'I have also left you your keycard on the tray. It will give you access to the rooms on this floor.'

They turned to leave but you couldn't help yourself from stopping them.

'Thank you, but uh, do you know where Ray is?' you asked.

'Mr Ray is busy working on an important project. He instructed me to relay an apology to you if you enquired after his whereabouts.'

'Oh, I see,' you said dejectedly.

The robed figure bowed their head slightly. 'Apologies.'

You gave a forced laugh and waved away the apology. 'No, it's fine.'

They nodded once and left the room, leaving you standing alone and staring at the closed door. You were irritated at yourself for feeling so disappointed.

With a sigh, you slowly made your way towards your breakfast, catching a glimpse of yourself in the mirror as you walked past. You angrily rubbed your lipstick off with the back of your hand, wondering what had possessed you to do all that in the first place. Once you sat down around the table you received a notification on your phone. You opened the messenger to see Ray had sent you a message and your dark mood lifted perceptibly. He had sent a selfie of himself with a piece of toast halfway into his mouth, his eyes smiling. It was reassuring to see him look so happy and carefree; the conversation you had with him last night had been looming over you like a dark cloud. The room he was in was dim and his face was lit up with a greenish glow.

Below the picture read, 'Enjoy your breakfast! See, I'm eating too so it's like I'm there with you'.

You smiled broadly as you studied Ray's face on your phone, before realising you had been doing so for far too long. Once you realised this, your smile dropped and you quickly exited the messenger and placed your phone out of your reach, just so you wouldn't be tempted to sneak a glance at him again. Having a picture of Ray on your phone was a dangerous thing.

You ate quickly, itching to grab the keycard and explore the other rooms with your new freedom.

Once full, you grabbed your phone. You allowed yourself to look at the picture he had sent again for a few seconds, before putting your phone away in your pocket. You took the keycard in your hand and marched up to the door, feeling jittery. You swung your door open in enthusiasm and left your room.

Now that you were outside in the hallway, you tried to think of the best places to go. You would try to elevator eventually but you were pretty certain they hadn't give you access to that. First, you would go in the opposite direction to the lift, around the corner you had seen many staff emerge and disappear into.

You set off, feeling more and more excited as you neared the end of the corridor with each step. Once there you tentatively looked around the bend. Your mouth fell open in surprise. It was another hallway similar to the one your room was in, except for the giant window spanning the entire corridor on its left side. You took a few steps forward, mesmerised. The view was completely breath-taking and not at all what you imagined. Wherever this building was, it must have been built somewhere of high altitude like a large hill or small mountain because you all you could see were trees below you and in the distance.

'So much for a chic office building in the city centre', you thought. You should have predicted this with how long the drive here took, but apparently your naivety knew no bounds.

You resisted the urge to press your nose up against the glass – you should show some semblance of maturity after all – and decided to take a picture of the view instead. You fished for your phone in your pocket and unlocked it. You opened the camera and held it up landscape in front of you, trying to get everything in the shot. You were about to press the 'capture' button when you heard footsteps hurrying towards you. Distracted, your phone moved and the picture taken was blurred to an extent that it was a mass of green and nothing could be made out.

'Excuse me, miss!' the robed figure jogging towards you shouted, 'You are not allowed to take pictures here.'

'Oh, I-I'm sorry. I didn't realise.'

They finally reached you and you quickly lowered your phone, feeling embarrassed. Their face was covered in the shadows of their hood and they held out a hand expectantly. You blinked and stared at their outstretched hand.

'Please give it to me so that I can delete it.'

'Sorry?'

'This building and its location are highly confidential. I need to make sure myself that the photo you have taken has been deleted.'

You reluctantly placed your phone in the palm of their hand. You watched them curiously as they browsed through all your apps until they settled on the photo gallery. They deleted the photo and gave you your phone back.

They looked up at you for a millisecond and smiled. You caught a glint of a light mint colour. 'Thank you.'

Then they lowered their head again and brushed past you as they walked by. You watched their tall retreating figure in thought. That voice and those eyes…

It was the same man that you saw yesterday when you had left your room for the first time.

You briefly wondered who he was and what he did here, before brushing off the questions and continuing on.

You spent the next few hours exploring the rooms down both the hallways. Some of the rooms were dark and empty, but you occasionally found some you really liked and promised yourself you would return to. You found a music room, with a large piano in the centre and various instruments leaning against the walls. You also found a library, with numerous bookcases and worn wooden desks stacked with books of all sizes. This was probably your favourite room and you spent an hour just reading all the titles strewn around. There were a lot of books on programming but a few caught your eye such as 'Hacking for Dummies' and 'Encyclopedia of Tropical Plants'. You squealed as you found one of your favourite novels and gently ran your hands over its cover. You assured yourself that they wouldn't mind if you borrowed it for a little while and tucked it under your arm as you left the room.

There was one room a few doors down from yours which wouldn't open with your keycard. A group of people walked by and gave you an odd look as you tried to push against the door with your shoulder. You gave up with a huff. The door didn't look as polished as the other ones and was worn out, the wood shredded and rotting in some places. This only fuelled your desire to see what was behind it, but after embarrassing yourself quite a few times already today you decided to stop trying to pry the door open.

As suspected, you checked and discovered that you still hadn't gained elevator privileges and you decided to call it a day.

You returned to your room and placed the book you had taken onto the table, which was now clear of food. It still made you slightly uncomfortable knowing that everyone had access to your room and were able to come in whenever they pleased.

You were relaxing into an armchair when your phone started ringing. You took it out of your pocket and saw that it was Ray; you brightened up instantly.

'Hey Ray!'

'Hello, MC. Where are you right now?'

'Um, I'm in my room. Why?'

'Oh. I was in your room just a few minutes ago but you weren't there. Where did you go?'

Ray sounded a little put out and you were disappointed too knowing that you had missed him by a few minutes.

'Ah that's because I was doing some sightseeing in the other rooms.'

'I see,' he paused, 'So we missed each other. I'm glad you finally received your keycard. You can explore that floor whenever you want.'

'Thanks, Ray.'

He was quiet for such a long time that you had to check your phone to see if the call was still connected.

'Umm, you said you were in your room right? Could you take a look on your bed? I brought you some flowers.'

You sat up in your chair immediately. 'What?' you asked in surprise.

You looked over to the bed to see a bundle of crimson roses wrapped together with a red satin ribbon. How had you completely overlooked them when you entered the room? They were beautiful.

'I picked only the pretty and fresh ones for you. I hope you like them,' Ray's voice velvet murmured in your ear over the phone. You were only half listening, so overtaken with emotion at Ray's care and thoughtfulness that you had to swallow a few times before you could speak.

'Ray, you-I-Wow.'

You took in a deep, shuddering breath. 'No one has ever given me flowers before. Thank you so much. They're beautiful.'

Ray gave a relieved chuckle and your lips automatically lifted into a smile at the sound.

'I was thinking about you as I cut the flowers and tied the bow… I'm so glad you like them!'

You sat down next to the bouquet and caressed the soft petals as he continued to speak.

'This is nothing. I wish I could give you so much more. But, hmm, what could be better than flowers? I'll try to come up with something better!'

'Ray, this is already too much.'

'It would have been better if I could have put those flowers directly into your hands myself. It's kind of a shame.'

'Yes, I would have really liked to see you.'

'I'll try to come and visit you soon.'

He hummed in thought then spoke a bit more seriously. 'Although it's not in that bouquet there's a really pretty flower called an anemone.'

'I think your garden had some, right? It was really nice.'

'Yeah, the flower itself is pretty, but its language is sad so I didn't want to give it to you.'

You relaxed, leaning back against your pillows and hugging the bouquet to your chest. You bent down your face to take in its scent as you continued to talk with him.

'What does it mean?'

'It has several meanings in the language of flowers, but the most well-known is betrayal.'

'Betrayal?'

'Yes. Even thinking about it makes my heart ache,' he paused, 'and that term doesn't suit you either.'

Your reply was instant and firm. You really wished there was a way for him to feel your sincerity through these ornately decorated walls and across the building.

'I will never betray you, Ray, never.'

'Thank you… you're so thoughtful.'

His voice was soft. 'I'll trust you just like how you said you would trust me. I hope your room becomes full of flowery scents that'll cheer you up when you wake up in the morning and help you relax when you go to bed at night.'

You felt your eyes burning with unshed tears. You had never met someone so kind, and honest and innocent your entire life. No one had moved you the way Ray had.

What made the lump in your throat bigger was that you knew that there was darkness in his life that he wouldn't show you, but you were sure followed him around constantly.

'Thanks for staying here, MC,' he continued, oblivious to how you were falling apart inside, 'I want you to be happy for as long as you stay here.'

'Thank you, Ray.'

'MC? Are you alright? Your voice sounds kind of strange. Uh, just a sec.'

His voice started to sound more distant and you could tell he was talking to someone in the room. 'Looking for me? Alright.'

'You have to go?' you asked, trying to stop the disappointment from bleeding into your voice.

'Yeah I'm sorry. Someone important is looking for me. I'll try to talk to you again. Bye!'

He hung up so suddenly that you didn't have a chance to say goodbye. You let your phone tumble out of your hand and onto the soft bed. You managed to prevent all of the tears from falling, except for one which fell onto one of the soft, red petals below.

You wiped your eyes and scolded yourself for crying so easily. You needed to be stronger. What happened to the vow you made yourself last night?

You gathered yourself mentally and got up. You took the empty glass vase in the corner of the room and filled it with cold tap water from the bathroom sink. Once it was mostly filled you carried it carefully and placed it in the centre of your dining table. You then undid the bow around the roses and gently slid them inside the vase. After arranging the flowers for a few moments, you stepped back and admired them. They looked perfect.

You snapped a picture of them and sent it to Ray with the caption, 'I loooove them 3!'.

Your phone beeped and you saw the notification for a new RFA chatroom flash across your screen. You plopped yourself down onto your bed and logged on.

V was online! Just the distraction you needed; you loved talking to V.

 **V: MC! You've come online ^^**

 **V: I wanted to speak to you.**

 **MC: V! Hi! What's up?**

 **V: The truth is there are some things that are troubling me…**

 **MC: ?**

 **V: No, it's nothing**

 **V: I hope you're having a good day. Everyone's really putting in effort to prepare for the party, aren't they?**

 **V: I find our guests… somewhat extraordinary ^^**

 **MC: Yes haha so do I. But, I think it'll be fun!**

 **V: Yes but if the emails seem really strange or something doesn't sit right with you it's okay for you to decline.**

 **V: Inviting the guests is** ** _your_** **task so we'll all respect your decisions!**

 **MC: Aw thank you, V! I'll do my very best ~**

 **V: I'm sure you will ^^**

 **V: It's only because we haven't had a party for such a long time that the guest recommendations are…**

 **V: Exotic.**

You snorted softly. Exotic was one way of putting it.

 **-JUMIN HAN HAS ENTERED THE CHATROOM-**

 **V: Jumin!**

 **Jumin Han: V… MC you're here as well.**

 **MC: Hey Jumin. This is nice; two friends gathered in a chatroom ^^**

 **Jumin Han: Three including you, MC.**

That really warmed your heart and you felt privileged to be a part of such an amazing group of friends – even if they weren't real.

 **V: I can talk to you over the phone Jumin -**

 **Jumin Han: So, you want me to leave and be alone with MC?**

'Oh, Jumin,' you said out loud to yourself, laughing, 'how scandalous of you.'

 **V: No, no.**

 **V: I was just kidding haha…**

If you could see V you would imagine he would be blushing at this moment. Soon, talk turned to V's father and his visit. At first you didn't see what the big deal was but you quickly learnt that V and his father were estranged and nothing alike in character or looks. You had imagined V's father would be kind and gentle like his son, but according to Jumin he was quite 'aggressive' in his approach to business. You insisted that V and Jumin talk about this matter on the phone – it seemed really private - but V assured you that he didn't mind you being a part of the conversation.

You were glad that V trusted you now. He had already decided to hold the parties and had told everyone to be nice to you earlier but little things like being welcomed in his personal affairs was a nice affirmation.

 **V: I just thought of something…**

 **V: Jumin, if I were logical like you… then maybe Rika**

 **V: Wouldn't have made such a choice**

You frowned. You wished he was real and in this room so you could give him a comforting bear hug.

 **MC: V, don't say things like that. Rika's choices were her own.**

 **MC: You aren't responsible for the choices that others make.**

 **MC: It's hard and I'm not going to even pretend to understand the pain you're going through, but don't you think that it's the job of those left behind to carry on?**

You waited for a reply with bated breath. You hoped you hadn't crossed the line or were mistaken in thinking that you and V were now friends. You really liked V and didn't want to ruin the friendship you had built with him. You also didn't want a 'Game Over' displayed across your screen so soon and you didn't want to see the disappointment on Ray's face when it happened.

 **V: …**

 **V: Thank you for your words, MC.**

You relaxed instantly.

 **Jumin Han: MC is right. It's up to people themselves to decide how to live their lives.**

 **Jumin Han: Nobody would have been able to stop Rika's decision.**

 **V: Yes, you're both right. Sorry. It's all in the past.**

 **Jumin: I'm glad we can talk about Rika like this. It means your overcoming your sadness.**

 **MC: It might not seem like it now, but it's going to get better little by little, V.**

 **V: I dearly hope that's the case.**

 **Jumin Han: You still need more time, of course, but it's up to your will.**

 **V: Yes, seems like it. Thanks.**

 **V: I should get going now.**

 **V: Bye Jumin. MC, I'll call you soon.**

 **Jumin: Take care of yourself.**

 **MC: Goodbye V! Try to cheer up ^^**

 **V: Bye!**

 **-V HAS LEFT THE CHATROOM-**

 **Jumin Han: V has… changed a lot.**

 **MC: How so?**

 **Jumin Han: He brought up Rika of his accord… He would never have said something like that before you came.**

 **Jumin Han: He has been avoiding talking about her for the past 6 months.**

 **MC: Although he looks calm on the outside… I think he's having a hard time.**

Just like someone else you knew. Although the chat was serving as a good distraction, you couldn't stop your thoughts from straying to Ray from time to time. As intricate as the game was, only _he_ was real and you were desperately missing him.

 **Jumin Han: Can you feel it too? I think your arrival and presence is another factor that makes V think of Rika.**

 **MC: Ah, I feel bad now. Is there I can do to help him?**

 **Jumin Han: I believe you're doing more than enough with your kind words.**

 **Jumin Han: Anyway, I should get back to work. Are you going to leave as well?**

 **MC: Yes, I'll go too. Take care!**

 **Jumin Han: Very well. Have a good rest.**

 **Jumin Han: Excuse me.**

 **-JUMIN HAN HAS LEFT THE CHATROOM-**

You exhaled deeply. That was an unexpectedly heavy conversation.

You made your way to the window and leaned your forehead against the glass to gaze at the view. The glass was warm from the direct exposure to the afternoon sun.

There wasn't much to see; most of the view had been blocked by another part of the building. You were sure you were put in this room for that very reason - so that you couldn't breach their 'confidentiality' by figuring out your location.

Their AI technology did seem quite advanced, but was it enough to warrant this much security? And what about the strange uniforms they wore and the strange greetings they said? You just couldn't figure it out. The biggest mystery of all was Ray; he was a sweetheart but you knew there was much more to him.

You had been here three days and you didn't feel like you had learned anything significant about this place. At times like this when you didn't have much to do except lounge around your pretty bedroom, you felt yourself growing more and more impatient.

But that was the thing. Even though you hadn't physically done much, since coming here you had experienced so many vivid emotions that it made your life before this seem colourless and dull.

There was something about the RFA which made you feel warm and loved in a way that your old friends had never been able to do. You related to Yoosung's struggles. Jaehee's insights made you feel totally understood. You respected Jumin's reasoning and sensible nature. You admired Zen's passion towards his work and friends. You enjoyed Seven's teasing and his ability to turn your mood around. You loved V's kind and caring soul.

Every time you thought about them as being mere AIs, you felt a profound and indescribable sadness.

When you remembered that you were in the same place as Ray and that he was only a phone call away, however, it would cheer your little heart up completely.

There was something about Ray that both soothed you and set your heart on fire. You had never felt this way before towards anyone. It frightened and excited you in equal measures. That alone, despite all of the uncertainty and the large part of your brain telling you to run out of this place at full speed, made you want to stay. You _needed_ to stay.

The ringing of your phone snapped you out of your thoughts and you withdrew from the window. You picked up your phone and looked at the caller ID. V's face lit up your phone screen.

You were surprised for a second, but then remembered he had promised to call. You quickly swiped to accept the call and put the phone to your ear.

'Hey, it's me', his smooth voice greeted, 'I did say I would call you didn't I? I hope I wasn't disturbing you.'

You wandered around your room as you spoke. 'Yes, I remember. Don't be silly, talking to you is always welcome. What's up, V?'

You could hear him breathing softly on the other end. 'It's nothing, but,' he sighed, 'there was something I wanted to ask you.'

'Go ahead.'

'Are you…staying alone by any chance?'

You thought you were now over the stage where he would try to pry secrets out of you, so you couldn't help feeling a little disappointed.

When you didn't reply straight away he continued. 'Is there someone frequently visiting you?'

You stopped pacing around the room and froze.


	10. Chapter 10

You wracked your brain to try to come up with an answer to V's questions. _You need to stop overreacting_ , you thought to yourself, _there's no way he's alluding to Ray! V is not a real_ _person._

You gave what you hoped sounded like a light chuckle so that he wouldn't realise how much his questions threw you.

'MC?' V called your name softly.

'Why do you ask?' you said, trying your best to sound nonchalant.

'No reason in particular. It's just that in case you happened to be alone, I just wanted to check that you were in a safe place.'

You relaxed and carried on your little journey around the furniture. Of course, it was typical of V to look out for everyone, so there was no reason to even suspect he knew about where you actually were.

 _Wow, MC, you really are imaginative sometimes_.

'I was asking because I was worried about you. I apologise if I have offended you.'

When you hadn't replied he probably thought it meant you were angry at him, you realised. You hurried to reassure him.

'No, no, of course I'm not offended. I'm actually glad you're looking out for me. Thank you!'

He sighed gently. 'If there's nothing going on then that's a relief.'

You plopped yourself down on an armchair distractedly as V spoke.

'But can you promise me something?'

'What?' you asked, curious. It was the first time V had asked something from you.

'If something happens or if there's something you want to tell me, please feel free.'

You couldn't stop yourself from smiling at his kind words. 'Yeah, of course I'll let you know. Likewise to you.'

You were pleased you were able to elicit a small chuckle from him. 'Thank you for not taking it the wrong way.'

He paused for a moment. 'Uh, could you also tell us if you feel like something is going to happen before it happens?'

You nibbled on your bottom lip distractedly as you tried to make sense of his request. 'Come again?'

'I-I mean, prior to a big event happening, if you could just let us know about it in advance, it may,' he trailed off as if trying to find the right words, 'be very helpful to us.'

'O-Ok?' you replied hesitantly, unsure about where he was going with this.

V sighed in frustration and you could just imagine in running his hands through his blue hair.

'The truth is I'm really worried about you. I really hope nothing happens to you.'

You opened your mouth to reply, saying that there was no need for him to worry, but he was faster.

'I'll look after you.'

He sounded so sincere and his voice was so tender that the words you had formed in your head dissipated into thin air and you swore your heart skipped a beat. This voice actor was really doing his job, wasn't he? At least now you could be sure that you were successfully on V's route in the game.

You realised you had left him waiting for a reply and tried your best to come up with one.

You settled for something you were sure he wouldn't expect.

'I'll look after you too V,' you cooed in the gentlest voice you could muster.

He made a sputtering sound. 'Sorry? Me?'

You grinned in satisfaction at how flustered you were able to make him.

'Oh… haha… yeah you mean the same thing as I did. Yes, I get it.'

You stifled your giggle by clamping your palm against your mouth. He was so used to taking care of everyone, he probably wasn't used to others saying they would do the same for him.

He cleared his throat and tried to sound calm and collected again. 'I have some things to attend to, so I should go. Don't forget to look after yourself.'

'Good-'

'Please excuse me first,' he interrupted and quickly hung up the phone. That was the metaphorical straw that broke the camel's back and you tumbled, with your phone still in your hand, onto your bed. You curled up, shaking in a barely-controlled fit of laughter.

After a few more moments you sobered up and wiped away the tears from the corner of your eyes. You felt refreshed. A good laugh like that was long overdue and it eased some of the pent-up stress you had been feeling these past few days.

You found it crazy how this was your fourth day here and no one had called you to enquire about your whereabouts or to see if you were even alright. You had pretty much dropped off the face of the Earth and no one had realised, not even your family. It surprised you because your mother usually called you quite often.

She must have been busy, you thought. Apart from her though, your phone was as desolate as the Australian Outback.

You tried to push down the gloom that was infecting your happy mood, but it was an unavoidable truth that had been lingering in the back of your mind.

For the past four days you had been expecting a phone call which never came.

What if no one ever noticed that you didn't go back to your room?

You curled up into yourself more tightly. Ray's glowing green eyes sprung to mind. You felt a pang in your heart at the thought of never seeing them again.

What if…

What if you didn't go back?

You opened your eyes at the sudden, dangerous thought. Where did that come from? You sat up slowly. No, you had to leave. You had to graduate and get a degree. You had responsibilities, loved ones and a life outside of this place.

But… what if you could take Ray with you when you left?

 **...**

He shut his eyes tightly and held back a whimper. His knees were drawn up to his chest and he wound his arms around them tightly. Hot tears streamed down his face silently, little droplets falling down and making tracks across his thin cheeks.

His ears picked up footsteps nearby and he tensed automatically. He heard another, and another, getting louder as they approached the closet. His heart pounded loudly, nearly drowning out the voice that painfully twisted something inside of him.

'What am I going to do with you?'

 _Thump._ One step closer.

'Is this how you repay my kindness? By hiding?'

 _Thump._ And another step.

'I should just throw you both out right now.'

 _Thump._ And another.

The voice was getting much louder, he realised. His hope diminished with each passing second.

'On the streets.'

 _Thump thump._

 _'_ And leave you.'

 _Thump thump thump-_

'To die!' the voice screeched.

Terror wracked through every inch of the little boy's body. There were no more footsteps.

The doors of the closet he had been hiding in were pulled open so violently they could have been snapped off their hinges.

Her eyes searched the closet sharply, before landing on him. Her face twisted into a familiar, cruel smile.

'There's only one of you,' she sneered, 'so you'll have to take twice the punishment.'

The woman with ruby red hair leaned forward and dug her fingers into his shoulder painfully and he cried out. She forcefully yanked him out. He resisted with all the strength in his body, but he wasn't strong enough. He was never strong enough.

She leaned so closely that he could smell the alcohol on the warm breath fanning across his face.

'You can never hide from me, Saeran.'

Ray flinched, the movement waking him up with a gasp. His whole body felt paralysed.

The rapid rising and falling of his chest was the only indication he was alive. He breathed in and out until his heart rated lowered to match its rhythm. He sat up in his chair and rubbed a gloved hand over his face tiredly.

It was just a dream. It had been real once but now it was all just a dream, he assured himself.

This was the price he had to pay for missing his last two doses of the elixir. The elixir was the only thing that had buried these nightmares away all those years ago, and it seemed he relied on it still.

He sighed and held his head between his hands.

He had felt so good this morning! He had woken up with a smile. He had even bothered to eat breakfast. Remembering the worry in your eyes prompted him to send a picture of himself to you as evidence. He didn't feel like he needed the elixir so he didn't take it.

'Mr Ray.'

He spun around in his chair to face the voice. In the dimness of the room, the believer standing by the door was bathed in an unnatural green glow.

'You are?'

'B317, Sir,' they answered, 'the Saviour asked for you.'

Ray put his hands on the desk to give him the strength to heave himself upright. He still hadn't recovered from that particularly realistic nightmare.

The believer waited for Ray to walk through the door before they turned and followed him, shutting the door softly behind them.

Ray strode down the corridor with the believer at his heels. He adjusted his collar and smoothed the wrinkled tails of his coat as he walked. It would be better if the Saviour didn't know about his nap, he thought, especially with how little work he seemed to be doing lately.

They reached a pristine white door with a golden doorknob. Ray gave the believer an expectant look and they leaned forward to give a few soft knocks.

They heard some rustling and after a few moments a melodious feminine voice answered. 'Yes?'

'Mr Ray has arrived,' the believer announced. Ray noted their fidgeting hands but was unsurprised. The Saviour had a way of making everybody nervous, even if she wasn't in the room.

'Come in.'

The believer opened the door and held it open for Ray, who nodded at him as he walked past. The believer shut the door as soon as Ray had gone inside. He stood with his back to the door to stand guard outside.

Ray walked in and his eyes sought the Saviour out. He spotted her gracefully lounging on her large, ornate bed behind a white canopy.

When he neared her, he bowed his head in reverence. 'My Saviour.'

He heard a soft sigh followed by some shuffling. He looked up to see her gently swinging her legs over the edge of the bed and standing up. She parted the canopy and slipped through.

Her blonde hair shimmered as she delicately moved towards him, each strand catching the sun's rays and illuminating the space around her like a golden halo.

'Ray,' she breathed, her voice like a soft caress. 'How is our guest doing?'

Ray's eyes softened, which didn't escape the notice of the woman opposite him. Her eyes narrowed infinitesimally as she studied him.

'She's doing very well and working very hard. V and the others trust her completely.'

Ray had to work to keep out the pride in his voice as he spoke. 'He has officially decided to host the parties. She's really amazing.'

The Saviour raised a delicate eyebrow. 'Oh, he has? That's very good. She must really be special then. Good job on finding her, Ray.'

Ray beamed at the praise, but the Saviour wasn't looking at his face. She eyed the trembling hands he was trying hard to hide by clasping them together tightly.

'Ray,' she drawled, moving closer. Ray stiffened as she placed a warm hand on his shoulder. 'You're shaking like a leaf, my child.'

Ray didn't reply and looked away instead, confirming her suspicions. She gently took his chin in her thumb and forefinger and turned his head to meet her eyes.

The Saviour's green eyes pinned him in place as she studied him.

'You haven't taken your elixir today, have you?' she accused, in the same soft tone.

Ray swallowed. How was he supposed to tell her that he had poured them down his bathroom sink? He was silent for a few seconds, trying to formulate an excuse, but he couldn't bring himself to lie to his beloved Saviour.

He lowered his eyes and shook his head. 'No,' he murmured, almost inaudibly. She withdrew, stepping backwards and Ray relaxed, feeling as if he could breathe again. Her presence was too overpowering sometimes; it felt like it physically made the air around him heavy.

She didn't say anything for a few moments, looking at him in thought. Ray braced himself - he would take any punishment without complaint.

She spun around suddenly, talking as she walked back towards her bed.

'I know you didn't do it on purpose. The girl and your work are distracting you. I'll get them to send another bottle to your room.'

Ray was glad she didn't see his mouth fall open slightly in surprise.'Th-thank you, my Saviour.'

She sat down on the edge of her bed and crossed her legs. 'Of course, Ray. I'm here to help you, remember?' she said sweetly.

Ray nodded. 'Yes. For eternal paradise.'

Satisfied with his response, she leaned backwards on her hands and tilted her head in thought. 'Ray.'

She paused, making sure she had his full attention before continuing, 'would you want to keep our guest here even after the party was held?'

Ray's mind went blank. How could she read him so well?

Was it obvious to everyone that he spent most of his free time thinking about you, or was it just blatant to his Saviour? Was it obvious to everyone that the thought of you leaving here felt like his heart was being speared, or just to her?

'Yes.'

His voice rang throughout her bedroom, clearer and firmer than the Saviour had heard it in a very, very long time. She leaned forward, intrigued.

'I'm glad you want to help her. You know for her to reach true paradise, she must rid herself of her old life and her worldly desires, yes?'

She spread her arms out, gesturing to the space around them. 'This will be her new home, her new hopes and her new dreams. The Magenta of hopes and dreams.'

'Of course, my Saviour. I want nothing more than for her to be as happy as I am.'

She studied him, looking for any signs of rebellion and found none. She smiled to herself in satisfaction; this girl might have been playing with his mind, but she owned his heart.

'Good. Then I'll tell them to bring her a bottle of the elixir when they bring yours tonight.'

Ray opened his mouth only to close it again. He couldn't remember the first few times he took the elixir, but he could recall the pain. It was excruciating, and sometimes even now it would make him wish he could curl up and die. The thought of you chained down and writhing with pain was enough to form a lump in his throat. Ray needed the elixir but not you; you were already perfect without it.

You had said you trusted him and he had been on the receiving end of betrayal too much to wish that feeling upon you.

He hesitated before speaking up, voice surprisingly steady. 'Actually, I wanted to make the preparations myself.'

She had been twirling a blonde strand around her finger, but stopped when she heard his words. She eyed him suspiciously. 'Why?'

'I feel responsible for her, my Saviour. I brought her here, so I shouldn't burden anyone else with this. Besides, she might not take the elixir if it's bitter like it is now; I may need to modify it and make it sweeter.'

Ray held his breath, hoping she couldn't see through him and his real intentions.

After a few moments, she nodded.

Ray tried not to let the relief show too strongly on his face. He turned to leave but was interrupted.

'One last thing before you go.'

Ray straightened immediately. 'Yes?'

'Don't you think it's time that _boy_ in the RFA got a little surprise?'

He understood immediately who it was she was referring to. 'Yes, my Saviour. I agree. He's been too arrogant and relaxed lately. He doesn't know what he's dealing with.'

She responded with a beautiful, wicked smirk. 'I knew I could trust you with this Ray. You're twice the man he'll ever be.'

A grin broke out on Ray's face at the compliment. He wished he could hear you say that as well - over and over again. It would be music to his ears.

'You can go now,' she said, waving him away. 'Take care of our guest.'

Ray bowed his head and left the room. He nodded at the believer standing guard outside and hurried down the corridor.

Taking care of you was exactly what he was planning to do.

You were so absorbed in the book you had taken from the library you almost missed a new chatroom notification. As you reached for your phone you were desperately hoping it was Ray. You hadn't seen a single hair from him all day and it had made you feel even more restless than usual.

You logged on quickly, brimming with excitement.

 **MC: You're back!**

 **Ray: Yup! I was worried you were busy and wouldn't log on.**

 **Ray: I'm a lucky man ^^**

He was so naturally charming - you didn't think that he realised the extent of it. He sent a picture of a single orange carnation soon after the compliment.

 **Ray: Do you remember this flower, MC?**

 **MC: Yes! We saw that together in the garden.**

 **Ray: I knew you'd remember!**

 **Ray: I thought you found this flower particularly pretty so I took a sneak pic of it…**

 **Ray: I hope you like it ^^**

You smiled fondly as you recalled that particular flower. Unlike the other ones which Ray had pointed out to you, you had discovered the orange carnations all by yourself. They had been growing in the corner of the garden, partially hidden by a large clay flowerpot. They seemed like they had been planted there as an afterthought, but once you had laid eyes on them they had taken your breath away. Its colour was so vibrant it appeared to be glowing, as if to compensate for being hidden away.

You and Ray had stood side by side quietly for a few minutes admiring them before you had gotten distracted by a bright blue butterfly fluttering by you. He must have taken the photo when you had chased it down a walkway, you concluded.

 **MC: Thank you! It was my favourite!**

 **Ray: Haha I'm glad.**

 **Ray: I wish we could have walked for longer… but time flew away from us.**

 **Ray: You know**

 **Ray: This is kind of embarrassing to admit but**

 **Ray: I almost grabbed you when you were going into your room…**

 **Ray: Without even realising it myself.**

 **MC: Ray…**

 **MC: I…**

 **MC: I wouldn't have minded. Not at all.**

 **MC: I would have been glad to be honest…**

You typed with shaking fingers and felt your heart pound wildly against your ribcage. Would he understand what you had meant by that? You hadn't wanted to sound desperate or clingy at the time – Ray was a busy man – so you had contented yourself with watching him from your doorway. With every step he had taken you had fought the urge to call out to him and ask him to stay with you a bit longer.

 **Ray: Really…?**

 **Ray: You wanted me to do that?**

 **Ray: For real?!**

 **Ray: I thought you would freak out so I held back… but there was no need for me to?**

 **Ray: … I am so happy.**

You liked Ray a lot; you had no doubts about your feelings now. It was stupid of you as you had only known him for a few days, but to deny how you felt when it was so obvious would make even less sense.

 **Ray: I'm happy because it means our hearts were in agreement and we both wanted to stay together some more.**

You felt like your heart was going to burst out of your chest and your smile was so wide your cheeks were starting to ache, but you didn't care.

Ray liked you - maybe even as much as you liked him.

 **Ray: You know, MC, when I close my eyes to sleep…**

 **Ray: My thoughts keep drifting back to you and that night in the garden**

 **Ray: I keep wondering if you're already asleep, what you're dreaming about**

 **Ray: What you think of me… stuff like that…**

His texts came in a quick succession and you didn't have time to get a reply in before he sent more. You could imagine him bent over in a chair, running a hand through his soft pink hair and tapping away at his phone. You liked to imagine he was wearing the same dreamy expression that you were.

 **Ray: I know it's not right to think like this but… but in that moment I wished I could hack into your mind**

 **Ray: And program it with a computer code…**

 **Ray: So that you would like me and only me.**

 **Ray: That's weird, isn't it?**

 **Ray: MC… how should I put this?**

 **Ray: I'd love to create a virtual world, just for us that we could escape into and leave everyone else behind…**

 **Ray: No pain… no sadness… I could stay there just with you.**

 **Ray: We'll only do the things that make us happy and nobody could ever trespass there or bother us.**

 **Ray: We could take a walk in the garden with flowers that we planted together… We could lay lazily in the sunshine together and breathe in the world around us…**

 **Ray: I could make a daisy chain to place on the top of your hair so you could wear it as a crown... you would be Queen of a world all our own**

 **Ray: Or not if you don't like them, I just think they look really pretty haha. It would suit you lots…**

 **Ray: I…I could be your King.**

 **Ray: When it rained we could run inside… I would hold your hand and look back at you to see you smiling at me…**

 **Ray: When it snowed we could get some hot chocolate and we could read our favourite books together. We wouldn't even have to speak… just sitting side by side with you in a warm silence would be enough.**

 **Ray: Actually, I wouldn't even need any of that.**

 **Ray: I wouldn't need anything else…**

You blinked rapidly to clear the tears that had welled up in your eyes so that you could read. The lump in your throat grew painful to swallow.

 **Ray: Just you and me happy together.**

 **... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...  
**

 **A/N**

I'm back!

I had to split the chapter up because it was getting way too long. Look forward to more regular updates again! x


	11. Chapter 11

You stared at his last message with blurry eyes and impulsively closed the chatroom.

You took a few deep breaths to calm yourself down. You couldn't take it anymore – you had to hear his voice. Your tapped your foot impatiently whilst you waited for him to pick up and bolted upright when he did.

'Hello?'

'That sounds like a dream,' you blurted out upon hearing his voice. You smacked your palm against your forehead in embarrassment.

Ray spoke softly. 'That's the kind of world I dream of. I'm so happy that you agree.'

His voice made your insides feel all fluttery and you wanted nothing more than to have him in the same room as you. This wasn't a conversation you wanted to have on the phone; you wanted to see his sparkling eyes as you told him exactly how you felt about him.

'Even the idea of just the two us,' he murmured, 'makes me shiver with happiness.'

His voice had dropped deeper and the twisting in your stomach intensified.

'But like you said, it's only a dream. It's a fantasy I can never grab.'

You fidgeted nervously with the hem of your dress.

He gave a forced chuckle. 'This is all just a ridiculous fantasy, isn't it? You're here, but I can't reach you. To be honest, I get a little jealous when I read your conversations with the AIs. They don't deserve your kindness.'

'I would have had a hard time playing this game if it wasn't you that had given it to me,' you confessed. 'Every time I get restless or frustrated, the thought of letting you down stops me from leaving.'

You held your breath, waiting for his reply.

'I'm their creator and even I can't stand them. I'm both happy and sorry to hear you are bearing those boring AIs because of me.'

He huffed. 'Those idiots are all busy preparing for the party without having even set the party date. They're really unorganised. Wait, maybe they're keeping the date a secret from you because they don't trust you yet?'

You didn't understand. One minute he was kind and gentle and you were talking about your feelings and the next he was talking about the game again?

'I'm sure V will tell me his plan,' you replied tersely.

Why was the game so important to him? Why were the AIs so important to him? You were so close to admitting your feelings for him, because you were so sure he felt the same way, but now you reeled backwards emotionally. The things he had said felt genuine, but with the way he changed the subject so quickly you wondered if they should have been taken with a pinch of salt.

It was one step forwards, two steps back with Ray.

'I hope so, but you can never know what that guy's thinking,' he replied, oblivious to your frustration.

I can never know what you're thinking either, you thought to yourself.

'His thoughts are elusive and he has a lot of secrets. He has lied numerous times to keep them hidden. Watch yourself, MC, don't let him get to you.'

You had to bite down on your lip to prevent yourself from giving a sarcastic reply that you would probably regret later.

'What do you think about the RFA party? The concept of helping somebody with fundraising with charity parties is used all over the world.'

You closed your eyes to calm yourself and replied with a surprisingly even voice. 'I think it's good to help those in need or less fortunate.'

Ray hummed in thought. 'Yeah, that's what people say when they do it, but do you think it actually helps? I'm not sure I like these donation schemes that much. I don't think a one-time financial boost can make a person completely happy.'

You scoffed. 'Of course not. Nothing can make a person completely happy. A monetary donation would just give them a slightly better life. It could be the thing they need to overcome their problems, like a gateway to happiness.'

Ray sighed dejectedly. 'Oh, MC,' he said sounding genuinely disappointed, 'you sound like V.'

Calling him was a mistake, you thought. You should have known better with his mood swings that something like this would happen.

'The RFA are all living very unstable lives, trapped in their own stereotypes. Take Yoosung for example. He is an AI set to mourn the death of a loved one, but is he really sad because of somebody's death, or is sad because the death remains a mystery to him?'

'I think the period of anxiety is meaningful if it is for the sake of overcoming your pain.'

'Do you think time can save someone, then?' he asked seriously. Traces of the gentle Ray from a few minutes ago had vanished. 'What if a person's misfortune stays with them forever? Don't you think someone has to help them? When a person is so tired that they can't even stand up to walk, don't you think someone has to grab them and force them up?'

You listened in silence, absorbing his words like a sponge and reflecting upon them.

'You should break free of your prejudices, MC. Some people,' he paused, 'cannot hope for happiness.'

'People that are broken beyond repair like that, they need salvation,' he murmured quietly.

'Ray.'

You called out his name softly.

You were feeling so torn! On the one hand, you were beyond irritated with how the conversation had turned out. On the other hand, parts of what Ray was saying made sense and he sounded so tired all of a sudden you couldn't help but feel a large part of your anger dissipate.

A thought occurred to you - maybe it would always be like this. He had sounded like he genuinely cared and wanted to be with you but had gotten side-tracked with his frustration at the AIs and the world. Maybe that was just Ray? He had said you needed to break free of your prejudices, and you probably did, but Ray needed to break free of himself and his uncertainty.

The more you thought about it the angrier you felt at yourself. You had already decided Ray needed help, so what were you hoping for exactly? Did you think you could just start a relationship with him and waltz out of this place, holding hands and talking about rainbows?

You had gotten overexcited by the prospect of Ray liking you back and had let yourself get completely carried away. This conversation was a good reminder that you needed to focus on the RFA game and finding out more about the secrets this building was hiding.

You couldn't help but hope that when everything had sorted itself out, you could be with him, exactly like how he had described. You hadn't been lying when you had said it sounded like a dream.

You didn't feel angry anymore, just sad. Ray couldn't ever like you in the way you wanted him to if he didn't like himself. Battling his demons came first. You had to stop being selfish.

You spoke firmly and full of resolve. 'I'm going to save everyone and get the good ending. I'll play until the very end.'

'Yes!' he exclaimed, clearly happy with your answer. 'Please do. You're the only one that can save those AIs. You won't get the chance to save anyone's life outside of this place, so please hold the party.'

He didn't say you couldn't save anyone outside of the game, he said 'place' instead. Did that mean what you thought it did or were you reading into it too much?

'What about you?'

You were summoned back from your thoughts. 'Hmm?'

'Don't you also feel sad and nervous? You know the feeling that no one is there with you, no matter how hard or painful your situation is?'

'Actually… yeah, sometimes,' you admitted.

'Loneliness, agony – I know what they are better than anyone else.'

You could feel your heart breaking for him and his deflated voice all over again.

'If you do then,' he hesitated, 'I want you to find your happiness. I want to save you.'

You started tapping your foot nervously again. It was a bad habit.

'You can become an official resident of this building if you go through with the enrolment procedure.'

You knew this question was going to come eventually. You stood up and started pacing around your room. You wracked your brain for a reply. You couldn't stay here. Could you?

No, you couldn't stay, you just couldn't. There was no way.

You nibbled on your bottom lip as you walked, phone still placed next to your ear. You could hear him breathing softly on the line, waiting for your answer.

But you had just promised to help him! He had a point when he said you wouldn't be able to save anyone outside of this place. If you wanted to help Ray you had no choice but to stay here. You knew he would refuse to leave with you, so your hands were tied.

'Well? What do you think?'

His bravado had gone and he sounded really uncertain. You felt sorry for making him wait so long for an answer.

'What's the enrolment procedure?' you asked, partly to give yourself more time to think.

'You'll go through a ceremony that will show we are all one. A seed of happiness is planted inside of you that will grow into a tree and bear fruit. That fruit will become your happiness. When you become happy like that, I'll be happy too.'

Even though you were only half-listening, you knew what he was saying may have been the strangest thing you had ever heard. He probably thought he was winning you over with his description of the enrolment, and he was, but not for the reason he was thinking. This place was more suspicious than you thought it was, and you and Ray had to leave as soon as possible. To do that, you had first had to stay a little while longer.

'It feels great talking to you about this! I really want you to join us, I can hardly wait. Ah, the server is getting unstable. I can't let you lose connection while you're playing so I have to fix this quickly.'

You stopped pacing and your shoulders sagged in relief when you realised he wasn't expecting an answer from you yet.

'Oh and by the way, I have a little surprise for you today which I'm sure you'll enjoy.'

'Really? I'm intrigued but I'll leave you to your work. Goodbye, Ray.'

'Goodbye, my precious MC,' he said and the call disconnected.

You lowered the phone down from your ear. You were starting to get a horrible headache. What had you gotten yourself into?

707 was frozen, his mouth hanging open. He couldn't think or speak for a few seconds. Once the initial shock wore off, panic replaced it. He sprung out of his seat and distanced himself from his computer monitor, as if looking at it from afar would change its contents. He took his yellow-rimmed glasses off and flung them away from himself. He heard them hit something and fall onto the floor, clattering. If he couldn't see it, maybe he could fool himself into thinking he never did.

He sunk into a heap of the floor, head hanging low. All of his efforts, struggles, and pain for the last six or so years meant nothing, if he really saw what he thought he saw. He dug the heel of his palms into his eyes to stop himself from crying.

He really did see it, didn't he? This wasn't some sleep-deprived, caffeine-induced hallucination. He looked up from where he was spread out on the floor and even without his glasses he could make out the big, bold headline - 'The Prime Minister's Secret Illegitimate Sons'.

Someone knew about him, but who, and how? Seven lowered his head and clenched his fists. He didn't care about himself, but he prayed with all his heart that his no one would touch his brother. If anything _ever_ happened to him, well, he wasn't sure that his life would be worth living anymore.

Seven rubbed away the moisture on his cheeks and slowly got up. He composed himself and walked calmly back to his desk. He picked up his phone. He needed answers.

V pressed himself against the wall and held his breath. He hoped the dark robes would blend well enough into the shadows that the surrounding believers wouldn't notice him. He inched closer and closer to the Saviour's bedroom door. He looked both ways down the corridor a few times until he was satisfied that no one was approaching. He opened her door and slipped inside. The Saviour's door, unlike every other door in the entire building, was never locked. It didn't even have a lock.

She had arrogantly – and correctly – assumed that the believers wouldn't dare to enter her private space without her permission.

V closed the door behind him as quietly as he could and cast his gaze to the extravagant room around him. He needed a clue. A notebook, a phone, a calendar. Anything.

He moved across the room as lightly as he could, thanking his lucky stars for the carpeted floor muting the thud of his footsteps.

He searched everywhere for a trace of her plans. He even opened her wardrobe, only to find rows of elaborate and expensive-looking evening dresses. When he didn't find anything in there, he slid the doors gently shut. He was about to leave when he spotted a small, unassuming cabinet he had completely overlooked when he had entered the room.

He hurried over and pulled out the drawers one by one, running his hands along all of the smooth inside surfaces. He crouched down to check the bottom shelves and smiled in satisfaction when he felt something small taped to the underside. He quickly pulled it out and examined it - it was a memory stick.

V had just pocketed it when he heard footsteps approaching the door. He sprung up and frantically looked around for a place to hide. Being caught in here would be extremely bad for the average person, but him specifically being found here would be fatal.

He heard the doorknob rattle as it turned and he darted towards the bathroom without a second thought. He had just enough time to close the door, leaving it only slightly ajar so that he could listen in on the conversation, when he heard them enter the room. He gripped the memory stick through his pocket tightly whilst he tried to breathe as quietly as possible.

'One last thing before you leave for your duties.' He recognised the voice immediately as the Saviour's.

The second voice was deeper and male, but it was unfamiliar to him. 'Yes, my Saviour?'

'Are the preparations for tonight's ceremony complete?'

V closed his eyes, trying to reign in his emotions. Her voice still sounded like liquid velvet, just as he remembered it, and it could still make his heart beat faster.

'Of course, my Saviour. Although, may I ask a question?' asked the male voice timidly.

He heard a bored sigh. 'If you must.'

'Some of the other believers – not me of course – were wondering why she has been able to stay here for so long without going through the initiation.'

Her voice was calm, but icy as she spoke. 'They dare to question my wishes?'

'Oh n-no, of course not. It was just a few mutterings,' he laughed nervously, 'and I'll go put them in their places right-'

'You tell them that as soon as the party date is set she will be made into a humble believer just like everybody else,' she interrupted.

'A-and the rumours about her becoming Mr Ray's assistant?'

She laughed humourlessly. 'Hope is a powerful motivator. More powerful than fear. It was just something I fed him to make him go through with her ceremony.'

V's hands were starting to get slick with sweat. This was not good, he thought.

'The girl has no skills to offer Mint Eye and is therefore useless in our plans. I am nothing if not generous, however, so I will allow her to stay.'

She paused and V heard a thud followed by the shuffling of fabric. He peeked through the sliver of space in the doorway with one eye to see her putting a long black coat on. 'Come on, let's go.'

He saw them walk to the door. The believer held it open for her.

'She will be so drugged up by tonight's initiation that she'll be the one needing assistance, I assure you,' she stated matter-of-factly before sweeping out of the room elegantly. The believer turned off the light and closed the door behind him as he left.

V was plunged into the darkness, left alone with his worries. He had to find you. You were in serious danger.

 **A/N:**

I hope your ready for the next chapter! Hold onto your hats :D


	12. Chapter 12

**-MC HAS ENTERED THE CHATROOM-**

 **V: MC, you're here.**

 **V: Has something happened?**

 **MC: Hey V**

 **MC: Me? No, nothing. Why?**

 **V: Oh haha nothing. I have so many concerns these days the question just came out.**

 **V: And my phone stopped working for a while. That's another concern…**

 **MC: Maybe it's the signal? Where are you right now?**

 **V: I'm outside right now, but the messenger is working fine.**

 **-707 HAS ENTERED THE CHATROOM-**

 **707: V! Why aren't u picking up?**

 **V: Luciel, perfect timing. I think there's something wrong with the signal…**

 **MC: Welcome, Seven! ^^**

 **707: oh hey MC. I came to talk to V**

 **V: Oh you logged in because I didn't pick up.**

 **707: yep. V! Did u send me an email by any chance?**

 **V: No.**

 **T** here was a long pause.

 **707: u sure u didn't?**

 **V: I called you a few hours ago and left a voicemail…?**

 **707: I know I saw it. That's not what I'm talking about**

 **707: I received a rly strange email**

 **MC: What did it say?**

 **707: An email about something only me and u know about, V**

 **V: What?**

 **707: what do u mean it wasn't u? If it's not u then who sent it?**

 **707: who sent it?**

 **707: only someone who knows about me could have sent it…**

 **V: Luciel, calm down and listen to me. Could you forward it to me?**

 **707: wait…**

 **707: so it's rly not u?**

 **V: No, it's not…**

 **MC: Guys, what's going on? What do they know about you, Seven?**

 **707: Alright. I'll send it now. When can we talk? It should be over the phone.**

 **V: Agreed. I'll try moving somewhere else.**

 **MC: Just where are you, V? Why would your phone be dead?**

 **V: Tell me about it.**

 **707: Want me to check if there's a prob with the base station?**

 **V: Uh…**

 **V: No its fine. I'm going to move now. I'll check out the email, one second.**

 **707: ok…**

 **MC: Could you send it to me too? I hope it's not too bad.**

 **707: Sorry… this is something only V and I know about.**

 **V: Sorry we're discussing secrets in front of you.**

 **V: My God… I just opened it…**

 **707: ikr? Any suspects?**

There was another long pause.

 **V: None.**

 **707: this person knows my identity…**

 **MC: What identity, Seven? Guys, seriously, what's going on? I'm getting worried.**

 **707: …MC, do u really want to know everything about me?**

 **707: Can you handle my secrets?**

 **707: Didn't you ever ask yourself why V and I are the only ones in charge of security?**

 **V: Luciel I know you're shocked but you have to try to calm down. We shouldn't chat about this here.**

 **707: V**

 **707: you've read the email**

 **707: how am I supposed to calm down?!**

 **V: Yes, I understand but MC and the others can read what we write here. Let's talk over the phone**

 **707: Your phone isn't working**

 **V: I'm trying to find a place with signal, hang on**

 **707: my mind is numb, my hands are shaking**

 **V: Don't worry Luciel. We will find out who did this.**

 **707: do u think I can? I haven't even found a trace of the hacker that brought MC in**

 **MC: I…**

 **MC: I don't think you'll be able to find this person, Seven.**

 **V: Uh, MC…**

 **707: MC, what do u know about this?**

 **V: It wasn't the best time to say something like that…**

 **707: Who is this hacker working behind u? V!**

 **707: Why won't u tell me anything?!**

 **707: Wait… is it him…?**

 **V: Him?**

 **MC: Who's him?**

 **707: If it's not u and it's not me… it has to be him?**

 **V: Luciel…**

 **MC: Him?**

 **V: Uh please just pretend you didn't read that, MC.**

 **707: UGHHHHH**

 **707: I took the email apart but it was spotless**

 **707: That hacker with you, MC**

 **707: they're not related to this email, right?**

 **MC: …**

 **MC: Yes, I think they are.**

 **707: Yes?**

 **707: YES?**

 **707: r u serious?**

 **707: u know ur basically saying that ur a threat to the RFA?**

 **V: Luciel… I know this is hard but you promised to entrust me with everything related to MC. Please…**

 **V: Just give me an hour to find a place to call you. I will call you.**

 **707: An hour?**

 **707: fine**

 **-707 HAS LEFT THE CHATROOM-**

 **MC: I feel so guilty right now…**

 **V: There's no need for you to feel guilty… I think I understand your situation, MC.**

 **V: I really hope you're taking care of yourself.**

 **V: Watching your surroundings.**

 **V: …**

 **V: Luciel will be fine in no time. Once we speak over the phone he'll be himself again.**

 **MC: That must be quite a heavy burden you carry on your shoulders, V.**

 **V: Thanks for understanding ^^**

 **V: Oh, I should go and quickly find a place with better signal.**

 **MC: Of course. Please take care of Seven; I hate seeing him upset.**

 **V: I'll do my best.**

There was an even longer pause.

 **V: MC**

 **V: Please watch yourself.**

 **V: Please.**

 **V: I'll call you when I have time**

 **V: Excuse me.**

 **-V HAS LEFT THE CHATROOM-**

 **-MC HAS LEFT THE CHATROOM-**

You placed your phone face down on the table and put your head in your hands. You had been feeling a little unwell ever since your phone call with Ray where he asked you to consider staying with him.

That was two hours ago, and you still felt no closer to a decision. The only two things you were sure of were that you definitely didn't want to stay here forever and that you definitely didn't want to leave Ray. Unfortunately for you, both of these things seemed to heavily contradict each other.

You picked up your phone again and went into your photo gallery. You didn't have to search much to find the selfie that Ray had sent to you earlier. It had a little gold star next to it and was currently the only picture in the folder labelled 'Favourites'.

You leaned your phone against the flower vase –that was filled with the roses Ray had given you- and sat back in your chair to admire the picture. What were you supposed to do?

You jumped when you heard three soft knocks on your door. 'Who is it?' you called out, whilst you quickly pushed your phone face down on the table so that the screen was hidden.

'It's me, Ray.'

'Oh, uh, come in!

 _Good thing he knocked before he walked in_ , you thought. _It would've been super embarrassing to have been caught like that_.

Your door swung upon and Ray walked in, looking as mesmerising as ever in his bold magenta coat and soft pink hair. He strode towards you with his hands behind his back.

'Hey,' you greeted with a wide smile. He reciprocated with an adorable grin of his own.

'MC, I've missed you. I haven't seen you all day.'

His warm, familiar voice made you feel jittery, as if you had just been injected with a full syringe of adrenaline.

You were shuffling a few steps forward in his direction when you remembered his confessions from earlier in the day. _You would be Queen… I could be your King._

You slowed down and felt your cheeks grow warmer. 'I've missed you too,' you murmured, suddenly shy. You averted your eyes and saw that his hands were still held behind his back.

You cleared your throat, trying to dislodge the timidity that had settled there. 'What do you have there?'

Ray kept his eyes on your face as he slowly brought out his hands from behind his back.

'These are for you.'

He held up a small bunch of white gardenias in his hands. The vibrant green stalks contrasted with his slim, pale fingers.

'I went to the garden at around midday to run a few errands and when I saw these I thought of you,' he said, his cheeks beginning to match the colour of his coat.

You balled your hands on either side of you into fists.

He waited patiently for your reply whilst you battled internally. It was when his wide, innocent eyes met yours that you decided to stop resisting.

In one fluid motion you stepped towards him, took the flowers in one hand and threw your other arm around his warm body in a tight embrace. You rested your cheek against his shoulder and closed your eyes, breathing in his scent. It was sweetly floral with hints of damp earth and you couldn't get enough of it.

Time slowed down as you felt him breathe in and out – his chest expanding and deflating against you. Ray had always looked thin but you hadn't appreciated how wide his torso actually was and he was also taller than he seemed.

A few seconds slipped by but you still held on tight. Doubt was starting to seep into your mind when you felt a pair of arms encircle your waist hesitantly. His hair tickled your neck where he rested his head. The arms around you tightened as he hugged you to him.

You stood there like that with him for a few moments, breathing in and out, and hearts beating fast.

'Trust, loyalty and new friendships,' you recited, breaking the silence. 'That's what gardenias mean.'

Ray pulled away and slowly detangled himself from you. He still remained close enough that your chests were almost touching.

'I trust you, MC - more than I've trusted anyone these past few years. And I promise to always be loyal to you. So,' he paused, eyes boring into yours.

You held your breath expectantly.

'Can we be best friends?'

You were stunned into silence as his words sunk in. You glanced between the flowers in your hand to Ray's face and back again. You suddenly began to laugh.

You felt light, like you could drift away with the breeze coming through your ever-opened window. You hadn't been expecting him to say _that_ of all things, but you felt strangely relieved.

That was the Ray you knew, and you wouldn't trade him for anybody else.

You placed the gardenias in his hands and placed your hands over his, cradling them gently.

'I thought we were best friends already,' you teased.

He looked deeply into your eyes as if he was searching for something, with an expression you couldn't quite place. He must have found whatever it was he was looking for because he grinned suddenly and grabbed your elbow, steering you towards your bed.

He let go and plopped himself down so that he was sitting on the edge and you sat down next to him.

'So what did you think of the surprise?' he asked excitedly.

'The flowers? I love them, thank you.'

'No, the surprise in the chatroom.'

'Oh, you mean this email incident with 707?'

He shifted so that he was sitting sideways facing you. 'Yup!'

'I'm the one who sent the email. I didn't expect them to be so… skittish about it though.'

You struggled to find the words. 'They felt so real. I know they aren't – don't worry, but the responses were so realistic. What did you send them?'

He chuckled. 'I sent AI 707 pieces of his past that he longs to forget. I couldn't watch him enjoying his new life… free from his gruesome past.'

'What?' you cocked your head sideways in confusion.

Ray didn't take notice of your question and continued. His eyes held the strange glint you had seen earlier in the elevator. 'I knew studying hard every day would pay off. Now I can bend and break those AIs however I want.'

He suddenly seemed to remember you were there. 'MC, you've got to have unpredictable twists and turns to make life interesting. Don't you agree?'

'To an extent, yes, but I think I want a predictable life. It's more comforting.'

Ray closed his eyes. 'I did too. I wanted to just sit and see how life would meander and flow past me, taking me with it.'

Then they suddenly snapped open, teal eyes piercing yours. 'But that didn't happen. Life would spin and jerk me around regardless of my own free will. I could never predict what tomorrow would bring. That's why I decided to change myself as well.'

You leaned towards him intrigued. This was your chance to find out more about him! You placed your hand over his gloved one resting on his knee. He glanced at it and then smiled warmly at you.

'I decided to change myself enormously to the point that others couldn't predict what I would do next.'

'I was told that I could never have what I want - that I would always be the one to get hurt if I just sat back and did nothing. Letting life flow past was never going to be an option for me.'

He wound his fingers through yours gently and you looked down in surprise. 'Ray-'

'MC, I don't want to treat you timidly. Of course, I'm a bit shy, but I want to try and fix that.' Warmth bubbled up within you.

He gripped your hand more tightly. 'I want to be more daring towards you… bolder.'

Your heart was started to pound. 'Maybe that way I'd be able to stay here longer with you,' he murmured.

He brought your entwined hands towards his chest, forcing you to lean in closer. 'If you decide to stay here I'll be a much bolder and exciting person. I'll try my best to be a person who can keep you entertained and happy!'

You could tell he was trying to seem cool but his voice and eyes betrayed his desperation. 'You know what? I didn't even know how to turn on the computer a few years ago and look at me now! I've made so much progress.'

He knew he was rambling so he took in a deep breath. When he opened his eyes he looked tired and broken.

'Stay with me. Say you'll stay with me and won't leave me. Please?' he whispered softly.

You took in Ray, all of him. You looked at the deep, dark circles under his eyes. You looked at his neatly combed, bleached hair. You looked at his worn brown leather gloves.

'I w-'

He pressed his index finger to your lips, silencing you. Once he realised what he had done he sat back quickly in embarrassment.

'Don't say anything you don't mean. Tonight will be when you make the contract to be an official member. I'll come and get your answer then.'

'O-Okay,' you replied, still a little stunned. He slipped his hand out of yours and stood up.

'I have preparations I need to make, there's no time to lose.'

With that, he turned and left, letting the door shut softly behind him.

Your hand still felt warm from being intertwined with his. You collapsed backwards onto your bed and looked at the gardenias next to you. Ray was an enigma - that much was certain.

It was a good thing you loved puzzles.

You closed your eyes. No matter what happened tonight, you couldn't face it being as tired as you were now. A nap sounded like a perfect plan.

...

'Mr Ray, how long do you plan on keeping that woman in there?'

Ray swivelled around in his chair to face the small group of believers gathered in his room.

He couldn't keep out the irritation from his voice at being interrupted while he was typing. 'What's the matter? Is there something wrong with her?'

A different believer answered, 'No, it's just that she hasn't had her ceremony yet. We can't let an outsider stay here forever, can we?

Ray rolled his eyes and returned to his work. 'We're holding her ceremony tonight. Before midnight.'

'Should we tell the Saviour?'

Ray sighed. 'She already knows. All we need know is the girl's consent.'

'Alright, we'll keep the Saviour updated. Let us know when the elixir of salvation has been made.'

He heard the shuffling of feet as they left his room. He slumped over in his chair.

'Now she'll be with me, won't she? She'll be with me forever,' Ray muttered to himself. He ran a hand over his face tiredly. 'But what if she changes her mind?'

He pressed the tips of his fingers to his temples, messaging them roughly. 'What if she suddenly hates me and pushes me away? No! She came all this way for me. She understands me better than anyone else.'

Ray paused when he heard the rustling of fabric and spun quickly around. A tall believer was lingering in the doorway. 'Do you have something to say to me?'

'N-No. I'll leave now, Mr Ray.'

The believer gently shut the door to Ray's computer room and ran down the now empty corridor towards the exit. V hugged the stolen Mint Eye laptop hidden under his robes tightly as he pushed open the emergency exit door near the back of the building.

Once he was a safe distance away in the dense forest surrounding the building he sat down against a tree.

He opened the laptop and turned it on. He logged in using the number on the keycard he had swiped from a distracted believer.

He had been hoping he could give the USB device to Luciel, but once V had seen the email he knew it would be impossible for Luciel to scan its contents without finding out about _him_.

He had no time left now. They were planning on giving you the elixir of salvation tonight.

He plugged in the USB and waited for it to open patiently, drumming his fingers on the smooth laptop surface.

It finally finished scanning for viruses and he opened it to find one folder, labelled 'RFA'.

V held his breath and clicked on it.

He gasped in shock, hand over his mouth. Inside was a virtual file on each member. There were even pictures of them during their day to day lives. Jumin at a work conference and Jaehee getting a coffee. There was one of Yoosung walking home from university.

Stamped over each picture was a faint watermark. He fiddled with the contrast and brightness settings on the laptop to see it clearly. Jumin, Jaehee, Zen and Yoosung all had 'Initiation' stamped over them. The files had their phone numbers and addresses as well as their work schedules and details of their colleagues and friends.

He went onto Luciel's file. It had his real name, address, the name of the agency he worked for and just one picture.

It was Luciel drinking a PhD Pepper and holding a bag of groceries on his way home from the supermarket. It had a large 'Termination' stamped over it.

V swallowed nervously and went onto his own file. He had no pictures or information. All that was written was 'Jihyun Kim. Highly dangerous. Termination.'

He spotted an unlabelled file and cautiously clicked on it. His blue eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Inside was a recipe for an alcoholic drink of some kind. It was mostly wine, but had some ingredients in it that V didn't recognise.

Once he was sure he had seen and made note of everything he had needed to, V closed the laptop and stood up. He needed to replace it before someone noticed it had gone missing.

He checked the time on his watch. It was half nine at night. He needed to hurry if he wanted to save you and all of the RFA. He would send coordinates of this place to Luciel just in case something went terribly wrong tonight, but he could never let him confront that boy. Never.

...

You were woken up by loud knocking. You bolted upright. 'Come in.'

You arranged yourself so that it didn't look like you had just been asleep as the door opened. Ray walked in and you got up to meet him.

'Were you waiting for me, MC?' he greeted warmly.

'Of course.'

You met each other halfway across the room and he smiled sheepishly. 'I've been waiting for this moment. Have you thought about the contract?'

You took in a deep breath to gather up your courage. You looked at him straight in the eyes. 'Yes. I've decided to stay with you, Ray.'

His face lit u.. 'Th-Thank you. Thank you so much. I'm so glad.'

His shoulders sagged in relief and you pulled him to you. You hugged him, cradling his head as he buried his head in your shoulder, trembling.

'I want to make you happy – so, so happy. I get nightmares often but I want to make you fall asleep every night with happy thoughts once you start living here, because…'

You felt him take a deep breath in and out, the junction between your neck and shoulder tickling from the warm air.

'I think I've fallen for you.'

Your heart felt like it was going to burst and you didn't think you could be grinning any wider than you were. You held onto him more tightly. 'Me too. I like you too. A lot, actually.'

You heard him laugh happily into your shoulder. He pulled away to look at you. 'Even when I wake up from nightmares, my heart becomes peaceful when I think of you. Even when my heart hurts in my chest, I feel like I can breathe again when I think of you.'

Your eyes started to water as you felt overtaken by emotion. There was no reality were you would have been able to leave this sweet man.

'I'm so touched.' You place a hand over his chest. 'I'm never going to leave or betray you, alright?'

He grinned. 'Alright.'

He placed his hand over the one you had placed on his chest and curled his fingers around it. 'This feels like a dream. This is actually happening, isn't it? I knew I wouldn't regret listening to the Saviour.'

'The Saviour?'

'Yes! You'll get to meet her soon.'

'Ah ok,' you replied, a little uncertain.

Ray's bright face started to dim a little. 'I'm so happy. I'm so happy to see you smiling. That's why I'm afraid this will all go away like a dream. This is a dream, isn't it? Real life is never this good to me.'

His grip on your hand loosened and he stepped away, worried etched into the lines on his face.

'I'm going to wake up to find myself alone in my cold, dark room with nothing but computers aren't I?'

'This isn't a dream. This is real. Trust me.' You told him firmly. You weren't about to let him ruin this special moment. You gently cupped his cheek so that he would look at you. 'This is real.'

He blushed fiercely but still leaned into your hand. 'Your warm hand makes me feel safe. You're right. This is real.'

He closed his eyes. 'Please keep doing this. Hold on to me when I'm not sure what's happening.'

You put your arms around his waist and hugged him again. 'I'll be here for you when your reality fails you. I promise.'

He rested his cheek on the top of your head. 'MC.' He sighed your name dreamily and you shivered as if it had been a soft caress.

You stayed like that for a few moments, until you both reluctantly pulled away.

'Once you become an official member you can roam all the floors, but to take the pledge you must go through a certain procedure.'

'Procedure?'

He nodded, face grim. 'Depending on the person… that procedure might be painful.'

Your eyes widened in alarm. 'It was painful for me,' he whispered, not meeting your eyes.

'Why would it be painful? What do I have to do?'

A hundred thoughts were racing through your head.

'Why don't we talk about this somewhere else? I'm sure you must be really tired of this room. Should we go to the garden?'

'Ok.'

He seemed relieved. 'Thanks, let's go.'

He led you out of the room and into the elevator. You saw him mumble something under his breath out of the corner of your eye. 'What was that?'

'Oh, uh, I'll tell you in the garden.'

The doors opened and you stepped out.

'You don't have to close your eyes anymore, just follow me.'

You nodded and walked behind Ray through a few hallways, turning left and right. You saw dozens of people wearing the black robes, walking around and running errands. The building was bigger than you thought it was. You ignored the strange looks people were giving you.

You finally stepped out through a large, glass double door into the garden.

You started walking again, more slowly and side-by-side this time. Ray was silent for a few moments and you looked over to see him biting his lip, in thought.

He finally spoke up. 'If I tell you something that is completely out of the rules of the world you know… you would trust me, right? MC, you'll trust me no matter what I tell you?'

You stopped. 'Like aliens?'

His eyes widened. 'What?'

You waved your hand in front of you. 'Are you a ghost?' you gasped. He was watching you with a frozen expression until you burst out laughing.

'I'm joking, Ray.' You watched his confusion melt away.

'Oh.' He smiled sheepishly, cheeks pink.

You cleared your throat. 'Yes, I will,' you added seriously, returning to the matter at hand.

'You didn't hesitate at all.'

His expression was one of disbelief and awe. 'You are such an amazing person. You're nothing like the people I've known so far. I'll trust you too - more than anyone else.'

You began to walk again as Ray continued to talk. 'During the ceremony you make a pledge but you also get a rundown on what this place is really about.'

 _Finally_ , you thought to yourself, _some answers!_

'For this ceremony you have to drink a specially formulated elixir for cleans-'

He stopped midsentence. 'I mean for an orientation. Sorry.'

You ignored the correction and gestured for him to continue.

'To be honest, I'm scared that you'll be in pain after drinking the elixir, just like I was.'

He stopped and made you face him. 'I wouldn't be able to stand that,' he said seriously.

'We make people drink it to help them see the truth so that they'll believe in us and become faithful followers, but you trust me already. You believe in this place so much, even without it.'

Yep. You had joined a cult.

The warning signs were oh-so-clear but you were oh-so-naive and now you were going to be drugged against your will and forced to join a cult.

'So I don't think you need the elixir or the orientation. You don't need any of it.'

You were snapped out of your own thoughts. 'Wait, what? Seriously?'

He looked unsure. 'Are you disappointed?'

'No! No, of course not, I'm relieved. Thank you.'

'There's no need to thank me. But if someone asks you, you must tell them that you took the elixir, ok?'

'Ok.'

He nodded in satisfaction. 'It's our secret.'

You winked at him in return, making him smile adorably.

You pulled him along with you to admire a few flowers. 'So what is this place?'

'I told you that this place makes games, but honestly… there are more things going on than that.'

You kept your expression neutral. You had already figured that much out yourself.

'The thing we do that would be closest to a game,' he hummed in thought, 'we provide delight to people. We do something fun and meaningful. The name of this place is called Magenta. People who live here call it Magenta, the paradise of hopes and dreams.'

'Like your coat.'

'Yes. This is where people wounded from the outside world gather together. It's the only place we can be happy.'

'Like a shelter?'

He tilted his head in thought. 'Yes, sort of. But we don't leave after feeling better because we know it is only temporary.'

His expression turned sorrowful. 'I had terrible wounds when I first came here, but after the cleansing I learned how to push behind the trauma of the past and move forward.'

He took your hand and gazed at you softly. You were certain his cheeks were permanently stained pink. 'And in the end, I was able to meet you.'

You walked hand in hand past the rainbow lilies and the orchids. 'Everyone here is like me. Only the strong ones can survive in the outside world but we were destined to be weak. This is the only place for us. This is why we call it a paradise. We are a part of Mint Eye here.'

He slowed down. 'Everyone has a role. My role is to protect Mint Eye's beliefs from the outside world.'

You stopped, tugging on his hand so he would stop with you. 'So you mean your game is-'

'Not a game,' he finished for you, 'I'm sorry I couldn't tell you sooner.'

You instinctively took a step backwards. 'What? They-They're real?'

He took a step forwards, his eyes pleading. 'I told you it's a game because I was afraid you would hate or attack us like the people from the outside world.'

'You lied to me, Ray!'

'The RFA are a threat to Mint Eye, MC. They're a threat to my home.'

'How can they be a threat to you? One of them is a college student, one of them is a musical actor and the other is a workaholic! What are you talking about?' you demanded indignantly.

He sighed. 'Not all of them are dangerous. There are only two dangerous people there. 707 and V.'

You crossed your arms and huffed in anger. 'Who are both apparently not artificial intelligence.'

'I'm so, so sorry, MC. You have to believe me. Those two hurt me even before Mint Eye's creation.'

He sounded so tired; you could feel your anger dissipating.

'How? What did they do?'

'I'll tell you the story later if that's alright with you. It's,' he looked away, 'too painful for me to talk about right now.'

You eyed him warily, 'You have to tell it to me, ok? Don't forget.'

'Yes, I will. I want to tell you everything someday.'

Ray dragged himself over to a wooden bench and dropped himself down. You followed, but sat a noticeable distance away from him. He looked at the space between you with sad eyes.

You hated it when he looked like that.

'The reason why I hacked the RFA chatroom was to protect this place and to save members of the RFA. They're being tricked by V. You saw how many secrets he was hiding yourself.'

'He seemed like a good person-'

'He's a liar. You should never trust him.'

 _You lied to me too_ , you thought, but didn't say out loud.

'At first he pretended he wanted to help me, but that wasn't his plan at all. He wanted to throw me into the bottom of an abyss,' he said indignantly. 'I only realised when it was nearly too late. I would have lost all will to live if it wasn't for my Saviour.'

You turned to face him fully, exasperated. 'I don't understand, Ray. Can you stop speaking in riddles? What does this have to do with me? Why did you bring me here?'

'We needed someone innocent; someone wasn't a part of Mint Eye to be able to infiltrate the RFA. Someone who hadn't been wounded like us. Someone pure. Someone like you.'

You tried to make eye contact but he was looking away in shame. You really, really hated seeing him like this, but you felt so used.

'Why me?' you whispered. 'It could have been anyone.'

He sighed. 'The Saviour needed someone young, around the same age as the members of the RFA. We needed someone in the city centre so we could get to them and observe them easily, so we looked at your university. We also needed someone smart enough to be able to answer the guest emails, so we looked at those doing your degree.'

You were silent, taking it all in. 'Then we needed someone who had experience playing games so I hacked into your phones to see if you would be interested in the concept. That narrowed it down to you. I'm so sorry, MC.'

You nodded, looking down at your lap, fidgeting with your hands. 'Ok.'

'Ok?'

'Ok. I understand.'

'Y-You do? Really?' You saw his expression to a hopeful one from the corner of your eye.

'Don't get me wrong, Ray, I'm not sure I forgive you for lying to me for so long,' you paused, 'but, I do understand.'

You looked over to see him biting the inside of his cheek, battling a smile. 'I'm so glad I got to meet you. I regret lying to you, but I don't regret choosing you. My Saviour told me not to get my hopes up – that people from the outside would fall for V's lies and turn their backs on us. But, I realised your special.'

His hands were balled up in his lap, brown leather gloves stretching. 'There used to be nothing but endless fights in my life, but now I have a safe space with you. MC, if you help me just a bit more, we can save the RFA as well. Then, my life might be completely different. You know… a life with more comfort.'

He looked at you hopefully. 'My Saviour said that if I fight really hard, that day might come to pass. Do you think that's possible for me?'

You took in a deep breath and reached over to place a hand over his clenched ones. 'I do. I really do.'

He smiled a signature Ray smile. 'Then please continue what you're doing so the RFA can hold the party. And then after all this is over-'

'So that's her plan.'

You both sprung up at the unfamiliar voice.

Ray spun around, searching. 'Who's there?' he barked. You heard a rustle and saw a believer emerge from the bushes. You recognised him instantly as the man with blue eyes who you had run into before.

'Saeran,' they said gently, walking cautiously towards us. 'MC, I've come to rescue you, but it appears I'm too late.'

His voice was so familiar. It was so gentle.

You could hear Ray muttering angrily. 'I knew it. I knew this wouldn't go well. No matter what I do someone always stands in my way. This happens over and over again.'

'Saeran, please calm down,' the figure said, his hands in his pockets.

Your wracked your brain trying to place where you knew him from. That voice… those eyes…

'V?' you gasped, incredulously. He looked at you and nodded solemnly. He pushed his hood down, revealing his glorious blue hair and handsome face.

'You recognised my voice,' he said to you. 'I'm sorry we had to officially meet like this, although it's not the first we're seeing each other.'

'Yes, we've met before. You're undercover, aren't you?'

'I came as soon as I found out you were in danger, but I believe taking you out of this place right now is impossible. According to what I overheard, you already believe in him more than the RFA.'

His eyes were filled with disappointment and worry. You looked away in embarrassment.

'Of course she wouldn't believe you! You're a liar!' Ray spat. 'MC, stay back! Don't get close to him, he's dangerous.'

'Saeran, I'm so sorry to see you like this. I'm sure this is all my fault.'

V took a step forwards and Ray took a step back. 'You don't feel guilty at all. I'm not falling for it this time. I never will!'

'I'm not the one who's been lying to you. Please,' V pleaded, 'can't you listen to me?'

Ray took another step back and another. 'Get away from me! Go away. Go away. Go away!'

He backed into you and grabbed your arm. 'Don't you dare touch MC. I will never let you get away with it if you do.'

V advanced, undeterred. 'You're the one who hacked into the messenger, aren't you? You've taken after your brother.'

You turned on Ray. 'After your 'brother'? What's he talking about?' Ray clenched his jaw and looked away.

'MC, I'll tell you. You'll find out eventually anyway. The boy you know as '707' and Ray are twins.'

Your mouth fell open in surprise. 'Seven and Ray are twins?'

'Yes.'

You still hadn't managed to wrap you head around the fact the Seven was even a real person, and now you had to come to terms with the fact that he was related to Ray.

'I have no such thing as a brother! That part of my life died years ago,' Ray spoke through gritted teeth.

'Saeran… I promised Luciel you would be safe. And you've brought a complete stranger into this mess?' V inched forwards little by little as he was speaking. It didn't escape Ray's notice.

'Please, please get away. Just go away! Please.' Ray pleaded, letting go of me and wrapping his arms around himself.

V sighed patiently and took something out of his pocket. He held it out to Ray. You squinted to try and make out what it was. It looked like two bookmarks.

'I know you miss him and you were heartbroken he left. This is the real you. Please keep that in mind.'

Ray reached out to take it, but snapped his hand back as if he had been given an electric shock. 'N-No. Don't give this to me. My Saviour will be so mad if I take it.'

After a few seconds of resisting, he reached out and plucked the slips of card from V's fingers. He brought them to his chest. 'You never gave me this. I didn't see anything.'

V frowned sadly. 'You're shivering in fear and you're trapped by her side. I'm so, so sorry.'

Your heart was breaking watching this exchange. You just wanted to run over and wrap your arms around Ray and whisper to him that everything would be just fine. You didn't know who this Saviour was, but they would get a piece of your mind if you ever saw them.

'You can't fool me,' Ray whispered.

'I'm sorry things turned out this way, Saeran,' V murmured, eyes filled with remorse.

Ray swallowed audibly. 'Help! Somebody help!' he suddenly shouted.

You heard footsteps and looked around in alarm. 'V! You need to go. You should leave Ray alone for the time being. Don't worry about him. I'm here.'

A voice rang at from the garden's entrance. 'Over there! An intruder!'

'Go!' you shouted at V. He nodded.

'I suggest it would be better to pretend nothing has happened in the chatrooms. For Saeran's sake.'

'Ok.'

'I hope we meet again,' he said to you and with one last lingering look at Ray, he turned and sprinted off into the darkness.

You heard heavy breathing and turn to see Ray bent over with his hands on his knees, gulping down as much air as he can.

'Is he…gone? He's gone, right? MC, you're safe too, right?'

You made your way over to him and he straightened. You noticed he was trembling. As you got closer you heard what sounded like quiet sobs.

'I really hate myself. I'm so weak. I really, really hate myself.'

'Ray,' you said softly, 'stop.'

'Maybe it's impossible. Maybe I can never make you ha-' he stopped. 'Uh, forget that.'

He hung his head low to hide the tears rolling down his cheeks, but you saw them anyway. You reached your hand out towards him but he turned and walked away towards the building. 'I'll walk you back to your room,' he said without stopping.

You stared at his retreating back, wondering how everything had gone so wrong, so quickly.


	13. Chapter 13

**PART II - AUTUMN**

The walk back to your room had been stifling. The air around both of you was thick with emotions that neither of you could speak about. Once you had reached your door he muttered a meagre 'goodnight' and left. You stood at your doorway watching him walk away, just like you had done the first time you had gone to the garden. The only difference was that now it felt like there was an ocean between you two, despite the fact that you had just promised to stay with him.

You went into your room and pulled out a chair. Were you supposed to start thinking of him as Saeran now?

You looked at your phone resting on the table to see a chatroom open and that Jumin was online. You instinctively reached out for it before quickly pulling your hand back. The RFA were real people this entire time!

Now that you knew you suddenly felt a bit shy. Jumin the handsome corporate heir was real. You regretted skipping the gossip and finance sections of the newspapers now as you definitely would have recognised someone that famous if you had read about them.

You smack your palm across your forehead. The gorgeous, other-worldly Zen was real and you had flirted with him so much!

And what about the beautiful, blue-haired V? You had admittedly developed a little crush on him in the messenger, but you had thought that it was ok because he was just part of a game. Now that you had met him in real life, you felt mortified.

Now that Ray had left you, you were starting to realise the gravity of the situation.

You took a few deep breaths in and out to stop yourself from freaking out and picked up your phone. You forced yourself to sound completely normal. You weren't sure if you fooled Jumin though, he was a sharp individual.

You briefly wondered if Ray was awake and if he was working. Was he monitoring your conversation? You shook your head once to scatter the thoughts; you didn't want to worry about him right now. You had yourself to worry about.

 **-V HAS ENTERED THE CHATROOM-**

Your heart skipped a beat. _OhmygodOhmygodOhmygod-_

 **V: MC, I see you're logged in. Are you…**

 **V: Umm**

 **V: Are you okay?**

 **MC: Yes**

 **MC: I'm fine**

You really weren't fine. Your fingers started to shake as you typed. What would your mother think if you never went home again? You pushed away those thoughts. That was a rabbit hole of negativity you didn't want to go down at the moment.

 **V: Thank goodness…**

 **Jumin: Is there a problem relating to MC's safety?**

 **MC: No, it's nothing.**

 **Jumin: Ah that's good.**

You breathed a sigh of relief when Jumin changed the subject back to the cat building he was contemplating on having built.

It felt so easy, so natural to chat with the RFA. You let yourself get lost in the conversation, albeit not fully – Ray was a permanent resident in the back of your mind.

You wanted to call him, but understood that he needed space and some time alone in order to deal with tonight's turn of events.

 **V: So far I've only asked of Luciel to do two things.**

 **V: 1) Identify the hacker**

 **V: 2) Maintain the security of the messenger**

 **V: As of now I'm only asking him to do the second.**

 **Jumin: Are you saying that you'd like me, instead of Luciel, to investigate the hacker?**

 **V: …Yes, if that's possible.**

MC: **Are you sure, V, that this is for the best?**

 **V: It's the only option I can think of…**

 **V: And trust me, I've thought about this more than once.**

You didn't interrupt again. You understood where he was coming from. If Seven was to have even a fraction of the reaction that Ray had, then it was really for the best that they didn't meet right now.

 **Jumin: Very well, then. I will seek a way to aid him.**

You yawned and made your way over to your bed, phone in hand. You slipped under the covers and back into the conversation.

'V threatened MC and spewed a bunch of lies before he left.'

The Saviour stood up slowly from her red throne and moved towards Ray. 'You don't believe in his lies, do you?'

Ray looked indignant, hands curled into fists. 'No! Of course not. Not even a little bit.'

She stood opposite him and he lowered his head. 'I'm scared,' he whispered in shame. The Saviour tilted his face upwards to make sure he was looking at her

'Of what?' she asked gently.

'What if he comes back, and takes her away? He was right under my nose and I lost him! I don't think I even deserve to see her now.'

The Saviour took in his glistening eyes and let go of his chin.

'My only dream was to make her happy at this place,' he continued, 'What should I do, my Saviour?'

Hot tears spilled out from the corners of his eyes. 'You told me I mustn't fear him, but I…'

He stopped, so overtaken with emotion that he had to bury his face in his hands. He didn't want the Saviour to see him weak like this. He hated himself for falling apart.

The Saviour closed her green eyes as she said his name. 'You poor child,' she murmured. 'Look at you. You've become a coward.'

Ray only sobbed harder into his hands and turned away in embarrassment.

'You've lost control over your fear and feelings. You're lost in your emotions towards that girl.'

Ray sniffed and wiped his eyes with the back of his hands. He looked at his Saviour dejectedly.

'Not to mention that you've only now realised that the intruder was lurking in this place for _months._ '

The looked at Ray with a mixture of disappointment and pity that made him just want to crumble. 'Now you're a coward _and_ you're useless.

Ray wanted to escape. He took a few steps away from the Saviour. Her light was blinding him. She was too bright and he was too… too useless. 'I knew it,' he whispered, 'I've done something wrong, haven't I? Is everything my fault?'

The Saviour turned away from him and glided back to her throne. 'The answer lies within you, Ray.'

She sat down and crossed her legs. The thick blue and red canopy above her throne cast a shadow across her face. She looked strong. Formidable.

'What should I do? Help me, my Saviour,' Ray pleaded.

She nodded. 'Of course. I'll always be there for you. I'll help you if you show me how much you've changed. If you don't change, Ray,' she paused, 'then perhaps this place doesn't need you.'

Ray's eyes widened and he could feel his heart breaking in half.

'No! No, I will. I'll be strong,' he said and spun on his heels. He needed to get to work straight away!

'I'll be strong, I'll be strong,' he repeatedly muttered to himself on his way out.

The Saviour sighed once he had left and rubbed one of her temples with her fingers. You were proving to be more trouble than you were worth.

You were woken up early the next morning by a notification of a new chatroom. You groaned as you rubbed your sleepy eyes. You grabbed your phone off your bedside table and peeked at the bright screen. If it wasn't important you-

You bolted upright. Ray was online.

 **-MC HAS ENTERED THE CHATROOM-**

 **Ray: Hi… MC.**

 **Ray: You're logged in.**

 **MC: Ray! Oh thank God.**

 **MC: I was so worried when you left like that in such a hurry. Are you alright? Feeling better?**

 **Ray: I…**

 **Ray: I don't deserve your care.**

 **Ray: MC, are** ** _you_** **alright? How are you holding up in your room?**

 **Ray: After seeing me last night, you must be feeling really disappointed.**

You glared at the screen, your sleepiness long forgotten. Why did he keep putting himself down like this?

 **MC: Disappointed? Why on Earth would I be disappointed?**

 **Ray:…**

 **MC: My heart is starting to break for you.**

 **Ray: Your heart is breaking?**

 **Ray: I…**

 **Ray: I…**

 **Ray: I'm so sorry. It's my fault. I…**

 **Ray: I thought I had grown a little bit. But it seems I had been mistaken.**

 **Ray: It seems that I had forgotten my place. I thought that my dreams were going to come true…**

 **Ray: Haha… I'm such a mess…**

 **Ray: When I'm with you it's easy to forget that the whole world is against me.**

 **MC: No.**

 **MC: Please don't blame yourself.**

 **MC: This isn't your fault AT ALL.**

 **Ray: Even now, you're caring for me… I don't deserve someone so kind…**

 **Ray: So good…**

Your furrowed your brows in frustration. Every time you started to type something in protest to his self-deprecating words, he wrote something else. You couldn't get a word in.

 **Ray: I'm so sorry.**

 **Ray: I was boasting about how I could protect you.**

 **Ray: You must be thinking that I'm such an idiot. I know I am.**

He didn't type for a few seconds and you took full advantage, tapping away with lightning speed.

 **MC: You're already doing more than enough to protect me.**

 **MC: I couldn't bear this place without you.**

 **Ray: Really?**

 **Ray: Even after what happened last night?**

 **Ray:…**

 **Ray: I'm doing my best**

 **Ray: But it's never good enough.**

 **Ray: I don't want you to hate me. Not you too.**

Who has told him that they hate him? You felt so angry.

How could anyone say something like that to Ray? He was so pure. He was beautiful on the outside and the inside. He said you were good… but you were sure it was just Ray's light being mirrored back him. You were just you, but Ray was the sun.

 **Ray: Argh! I hate myself.**

 **Ray: I'm weak… I hate myself so much.**

 **Ray: I…**

 **Ray: I think for a while I'll just focus on proving my worth.**

 **Ray: I should just be thankful that there's something for me to do.**

 **MC: Ray!**

 **MC: Stop blaming yourself.**

 **MC: …My heart aches.**

 **Ray: MC…**

 **Ray: I don't want to blame myself but…**

 **Ray: How can I not when I'm so pathetic?**

 **Ray: …**

 **Ray: I'm just glad you haven't left me yet…**

 **Ray: I'm sorry…**

 **Ray: Thank you for chatting with me.**

 **-RAY HAS LEFT THE CHATROOM-**

You breathed in and out trying to smother your fury. You let out a sudden scream of rage and dashed your phone against the wall on the opposite side of the room. You were tired of keeping such a close leash on your emotions. You had reached your limit.

You got out of bed and changed out of your pyjamas, flinging your clothes nowhere in particular.

You stomped past your phone, not bothering to check if it was still intact. You brushed your teeth so hard you were surprised you still had teeth left and yanked a hairbrush through your hair, ignoring the sharp tugs at your skull where it snagged on a knot.

You heard a knock on the door and a believer came in. 'Err… Miss? Is everything-'

Their eyes went wide when they saw the state your room was in.

You shot them a withering glare and pushed them aside to race out the door. They tumbled and nearly fell over in shock.

It didn't take a genius to figure out where this self-hate was stemming from. You needed to have a word with this so-called 'Saviour' that was trying to put out Ray's light. You didn't want him to hurt anymore.


End file.
